JP2006197975A - Airship toy - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an airship toy with power suitable for various kinds of play by making a power part attached to the airship toy light in weight and making it rigid compatibly. <P>SOLUTION: The airship toy 1 comprises: a balloon part 10 in which gas is enclosed; a gondola part 12 attached to the lower part of the balloon part; a hollow tubular member 14 attached through the gondola part 12; an elastic member 16 arranged inside the tubular member 14; and a propeller 18 rotatably attached to the tubular member and rotated by the restoration force of the elastic member 16. The tubular member is prepared by using a straw with bellows 28, the propeller is formed of styrol, the gondola part is formed by providing a hollow box part in which a weight for adjusting weight balance can be mounted and a support part from a sheet-like material such as paper, and the elastic member is formed of loop-like rubber. The balloon part is formed of a barrier film for improving sealing performance. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an airship toy configured by attaching a power gondola part to a balloon part capable of enclosing gas.

  Conventionally, there are various airplane toys composed of sheet-like materials such as paper and styrene paper (see Patent Document 1 and Non-Patent Document 1 below). However, if an attempt is made to attach a power unit that rotates a propeller using rubber or the like to such an airplane toy, the sheet-like material cannot withstand the pulling force of rubber and becomes insufficient in rigidity. Therefore, in a conventional powered airplane toy, a wooden or plastic airframe that can withstand the pulling force of rubber has been used. In this case, one end portion of the rubber is connected to the shaft portion of the propeller that is rotatably attached to the front end portion of the airframe, and the other end portion of the rubber is fixed to the rear end portion of the airframe.

  On the other hand, for airship toys, balloon-type toys without power were the mainstream. This balloon-type airship toy is a flying body having a different taste from that of an airplane toy, but because it is merely floating in the air, there are few variations when used for play.

Therefore, considering that the power part of the airplane toy is diverted to the conventional airship toy, the power part is heavy, and the size of the balloon to obtain buoyancy to counter this is considerably large. become. Therefore, handling as a toy including gas filling and maintenance becomes very difficult, and the play space is restricted. Of course, when a light power part is made of a sheet-like material such as paper or styrene paper, the rigidity becomes insufficient as described above.
Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-214301 Product name “Tornado Toby” MADE IN TAIWAN, Publisher AG (http://www.agport.co.jp)

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described facts, and an object thereof is to realize a powered airship toy suitable for various variations of play by making the power unit attached to the airship toy lighter and more rigid. And

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a balloon portion capable of enclosing gas, a gondola portion attached to the balloon portion, a hollow tubular member attached to the gondola portion, and one of the tubular members. A propeller rotatably attached to the end, and an elastic member for driving the propeller, which is disposed inside the tubular member and is stretched between the shaft of the propeller and the other end of the tubular member Are configured.

  According to the present invention, since the elastic member for driving the propeller is arranged in the hollow tubular member, the tensile force generated when the elastic member is twisted is applied to the side wall of the tubular member substantially evenly. Therefore, the tubular member can be made using a lightweight material as long as it has a certain shape retaining property without using a heavy rigid member. Therefore, the entire airship toy can be reduced in weight.

  For weight reduction, the tubular member is preferably made of straw, the propeller is made of styrene, the gondola portion is made of a sheet-like material such as paper, and the elastic member is made of loop-like rubber. Is good. The balloon part is preferably made of a barrier film in order to enhance the sealing performance, and more preferably an aluminum vapor-deposited film or a multilayer film in which a base material is coated with a mixture of an organic polymer and an inorganic layered compound.

  To simplify and facilitate the attachment of the tubular member to the gondola portion, the gondola portion has at least two alignment holes, and the tubular member is attached to the gondola portion by passing through the at least two alignment holes. Is preferred. This simple attachment mechanism further promotes weight reduction of the gondola portion.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the gondola part is formed so that the weight for adjusting a weight balance can be mounted. For example, the gondola part includes a hollow box part whose upper surface is open and a support part extended from the box part, and the support part is configured to be able to adhere to the balloon part. As a result, the weight can be easily placed or lowered inside the hollow box. Of course, there are other forms for placing weights. For weight reduction, the weight is preferably made of paper.

  As a propeller mounting structure, the shaft portion of the propeller is a rigid linear member extending into the tubular member, and an elastic member is preferably connected to the linear member. Even if the propeller is made of lightweight styrene or the like, the shaft portion can be made rigid so that it can have the strength to withstand the torsional stress of the elastic member. Moreover, it contributes also to weight reduction by setting it as a linear member. A preferable example of such a rigid linear member is a piano wire.

  In the case of this mounting configuration, a bearing end cap fitted into one end of the tubular member is further provided, and the linear member rotatably penetrates a hole formed in the center of the bearing end cap. You may do it. The end cap further includes an end cap that fits into an end opposite to the end of the tubular member to which the propeller is attached, and the end cap cooperates with an inner wall of the tubular member. The other end of the elastic member can be fixed to the tubular member by working and sandwiching.

  In order to increase variations in how to play an airship toy, at least one section of the tubular member preferably has flexibility and shape retention. Here, having flexibility and shape-retaining property means a property of bending or bending with respect to an external force but not immediately returning to the original state but holding the bent shape. As a preferred example, bellows are formed in at least one section of the tubular member. That is, when a straw is used as the tubular member, a straw with a bellows is used. Therefore, the user can swing the direction of the propeller up, down, left and right by bending the tubular member with the section as a boundary, and thus the flight direction of the airship toy can be freely adjusted.

  In order to allow other ways of playing, it is preferred that a thread is attached to the side of the airship toy. As a side part of an airship toy, each side part of a balloon part, a gondola part, and a tubular member is mentioned. When the propeller is rotated with the other end of the thread held in hand or fixed to an arbitrary surface, the airship toy rotates about the fixed end of the thread.

  The airship toy of the present invention may be provided in a completed state, a partially completed state, and a state before assembly. As an example, a kit for an airship toy according to another aspect of the present invention includes each component of the airship toy described above.

  The power mechanism of the present invention is not limited to airship toys but can be applied to other flying toys such as airplanes, helicopters, and UFOs. A power mechanism for such a flying toy includes a hollow tubular member, a propeller that is rotatably attached to one end of the tubular member, and a shaft of the propeller disposed within the tubular member. And an elastic member that is stretched between the portion and the other end of the tubular member.

  Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows an overall view of an airship toy 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, an airship toy 1 includes a balloon portion 10 in which a gas is sealed, a gondola portion 12 attached below the balloon portion, and a hollow tube attached through the gondola portion 12. A member 14, an elastic member 16 disposed inside the tubular member 14, and a propeller 18 rotatably attached to the tubular member and rotated by a restoring force of the elastic member 16 are provided.

  The balloon unit 10 has a gas introduction port 11 from which a highly safe gas such as helium gas can be replenished and filled. For example, a small diameter straw is attached to the injection port of a commercially available helium gas can, and helium gas is injected from the helium gas can in a state where the straw is inserted into the gas introduction port 11, so that it can be easily put into the balloon portion. Gas can be introduced. It is preferable that the gas inlet 11 is automatically sealed after the straw is pulled out.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the balloon part 10 is made using what is called a barrier film with high sealing performance. Examples of the barrier film include an aluminum vapor-deposited film or a multilayer film in which a base material is coated with a mixture of an organic polymer and an inorganic layered compound. As an example of the latter, it is currently considered most preferable to use a multilayer film manufactured and sold by Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. under the trade name “Savix”. It has been demonstrated that when using “Savix” film, the time required for refilling can be increased compared to when using normal film (actual measurements have shown that 1 for Savix compared to 20 days for conventional film. Extended to months). Thereby, the frequency of gas replenishment can be reduced, and handling of an airship toy can be made easy.

  In addition, as the form of the balloon unit 10, in the illustrated example, a substantially elliptical shape is used like an actual typical airship. However, the present invention is not limited to this example. For example, a star shape, a heart shape, a ball shape, Various shapes are possible, such as shapes simulating animals such as animals and insects, and shapes simulating characters in anime.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the gondola unit 12. The gondola portion 12 is preferably made of a sheet material such as paper as a whole, and includes a hollow box portion 20 having an open upper surface and a support portion 24 extending upward from the box portion 20. The gondola unit 12 may be assembled from the unfolded sheet only by a folding operation, and the unfolded view can be set arbitrarily and suitably.

  The support portion 24 can be formed as a sheet continuously extended from the box portion 20 and is provided in four places in the illustrated example, but in consideration of harmony with the overall design, strength, and the like. The number can be increased or decreased as appropriate. In order to improve the strength of the support portion 24, a strip 25 made of styrene material or the like may be lined on the support portion 24. An attachment surface 26 is formed at the tip of the support portion 24 so as to be suitable for attachment to the balloon portion 10. The attachment surface 26 is attached to a predetermined portion of the balloon unit 10 using, for example, an adhesive, glue, double-sided tape, Velcro tape (registered trademark), and the like so that the entire gondola unit 12 can be attached to the balloon unit 10. it can. In addition, it is preferable to print the mark 27 in advance on the attachment position on the balloon unit 10 in order to make the attachment accurate.

  Two holes 22 a and 22 b aligned in the length direction are formed in the box portion 20, and the tubular member 14 can be attached to the gondola portion 12 by passing the tubular member 14 through these holes. As described above, since the mounting structure of the tubular member 14 is extremely simplified and the gondola portion 12 is formed of a sheet-like material, the entire gondola portion can be very lightened.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, various weights 23 (23a, 23b, 23c,...) Can be placed on or lowered from the box portion 20. By changing the weight 23, the balance between the buoyancy of the balloon unit 10 and the weight of the gondola unit 12 can be adjusted. Since the airship toy 1 of the present embodiment is made light as a whole as described above, the weight 23 can also be made of a light material such as paper as a useful means for adjusting the balance. By making the weight 23 into paper, the user can make the weight appropriately according to the taste or to adjust the weight balance more finely, and the range of play of the airship toy can be expanded.

  In the example of FIG. 3, the weight 23 has the shape of an animal, but of course it is not limited to this, and an arbitrary shape is possible. Further, in the illustrated example, the weight 23 is simply accommodated in the hollow box portion 20 as a form for placing the weight 23. However, the present invention is not limited to this example. For example, the gondola portion 12 is provided with a protrusion or a cut. The weight 23 may be hooked or inserted there.

  FIG. 4 shows details of the power section of the airship toy 1. As shown in the figure, a shaft portion 32 is attached to the propeller 18. The shaft portion 32 is accommodated in a central bore 36 of an end portion bearing cap 34 that is fitted into one end portion of the tubular member 14. Thus, the propeller is rotatable about the shaft portion 32 with respect to the tubular member 14. The shaft 32 extends beyond the end bearing cap 34 into the tubular member 14, and a hook 33 is formed at the tip thereof. The elastic member 16 disposed inside the tubular member 14 is hooked on the hook 33. On the other hand, at the end on the opposite side of the tubular member 14, a part of the elastic member 16 is pulled out of the tubular member 14 and a fixed end cap 30 is fitted. The fixed end cap 30 fixes the other end of the elastic member to the tubular member by sandwiching a part of the elastic member 16 in cooperation with the inner wall of the tubular member 14.

  According to the said structure, the elastic member 16 can be twisted and elastic energy can be accumulate | stored by turning the propeller 18 with a hand or an automatic winding apparatus. When the hand is released, the propeller 18 is rotated by the restoring force of the elastic member 16, and the thrust of the airship toy 1 can be obtained.

  The propeller 18 can be made of a lightweight material such as styrene. The shaft portion 32 is made of a rigid linear member, so that both strength to withstand the elastic force of the elastic member 16 and weight reduction can be achieved. As the rigid linear member, for example, a piano wire or the like may be used. The elastic member 16 can be made of any suitable material as long as it can be placed inside the elongated tubular member 14 and can store elastic energy for rotating the propeller 18. An example is looped rubber. Also, the end caps 30, 34 can be made of lightweight plastic.

  The tubular member 14 can be made of any material as long as it is substantially straight and hollow. For example, a commercially available straw can be used without being processed. In the embodiment of the present invention, since the elastic member 16 is disposed at the substantially center inside the tubular member 14, the tensile force of the elastic member 16 is applied to the entire tubular member 14 substantially uniformly. Therefore, it is not necessary to use a heavy rigid member as compared with a conventional airplane power mechanism in which rubber is stretched on one side of the fuselage, and a very light member such as a straw can be used.

  Thus, in the present invention, since it is not always necessary to use a rigid member as the tubular member 14, the tubular member 14 having at least one section having flexibility and shape retention can be used. In the embodiment of FIG. 4, the tubular member 14 in which the bellows 28 is formed in one section is used. This can be replaced by a commercially available straw with bellows. Of course, a section of the tubular member may be made of a material having flexibility and shape retention, and not only the section but also the whole may be made to have flexibility and shape retention.

  According to the present embodiment, by using the straw 14 with the bellows 28 as described above, the user can swing the direction of the propeller 18 up and down and left and right as shown in FIG. As a result, a new way of playing that is not available with conventional airship toys, in which the flight direction of the airship toy 1 is freely adjusted, is possible. In the example of FIG. 5, by bending the tubular member 14 to the right in the traveling direction, the traveling direction of the airship toy 1 becomes right, and by bending the tubular member 14 to the left in the traveling direction, the airship toy 1 The direction of travel is left.

  Another way of playing the airship toy 1 is shown in FIG. In this method, the thread 38 is attached to the side surface of the balloon portion 10 by using means such as a cellophane tape or integrally with the side surface, and the other end 40 of the thread 38 is fixed to the other surface. When the propeller 18 is rotated, the airplane toy 1 rotates around the fixed end 40 of the thread 38 as illustrated. The thread 38 may be attached to the side surface of the gondola portion 12 or the tubular member 14.

  As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the airship toy 1 with power can be made extremely lightweight, and thus the overall size of the airship toy 1 can be reduced. As an example, the gondola portion 12 and the animal weight 23 are made of paper, the tubular member 14 is made of a polyethylene bellows straw, the elastic member 16 is made of rubber, the propeller 18 is made of styrene, and the propeller shaft portion 32 is made of piano wire. When each was made, a gondola part with a power part could be made with 5 g. On the other hand, the balloon part 10 made of Savix is made with a size of 515 mm in length, a height of 275 mm, a width of 230 mm and a weight of 10 g, and filled with 16 liters of helium gas. I was able to balance.

  The above dimensions are appropriate for playing indoors using the airship toy 1. Therefore, the field of the airship toy 1 can be expanded to realize various ways of playing, and it can be used for decoration without taking up space even if it is always placed in the room. In addition, maintenance such as gas filling and replenishment is facilitated. Furthermore, since the airship toy 1 is very light, it can fly irregularly on the wind flow in the room and enjoy the flight visually.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described examples and can be modified within the scope of the present invention defined by the claims. For example, in the above embodiment, only one power unit including a propeller and a tubular member is provided, but a plurality of power units may be provided. Further, the number and shape of the gondola portions can be changed as appropriate.

  Also, the application of the present embodiment can be expanded in various ways. For example, by attaching the power unit shown in FIG. 4 to a flying toy such as a conventional paper airplane, a powered flying object can be easily made.

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of an airship toy according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the gondola portion of the airship toy shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which a weight is placed on the gondola portion shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing a power section of an airship toy according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining that a variety of flights are possible by bending the tubular member constituting the power unit of FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of how to play an airship toy according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Airship toy 10 Balloon part 11 Gas inlet 12 Gondola part 14 Tubular member 16 Elastic member 18 Propeller 20 Box part 22a, 22b Tubular member attachment hole 23 (23a, 23b, 23c, ...) Weight (animal shape)
24 Supporting portion 25 Reinforcement strip 26 Mounting surface 27 Mounting position 28 Bellows section 30 Fixed end cap 32 Propeller blade 33 Hook 32 Propeller shaft 34 Bearing end cap 36 Central bore 38 Yarn 40 Yarn fixed end

Claims (20)

A balloon that can be filled with gas,
A gondola part attached to the balloon part;
A hollow tubular member attached to the gondola part;
A propeller rotatably attached to one end of the tubular member;
An elastic member for propeller rotation drive, which is disposed inside the tubular member and is stretched between the shaft portion of the propeller and the other end portion of the tubular member;
An airship toy.   The airship toy according to claim 1, wherein the tubular member is a straw.   The airship toy according to claim 1, wherein the gondola portion has at least two alignment holes, and the tubular member passes through the at least two alignment holes.   The airship toy according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein at least one section of the tubular member has flexibility and shape retention.   The airship toy according to claim 4, wherein a bellows is formed in the at least one section of the tubular member.   The airship toy according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the gondola portion is made of a sheet-like material.   The airship toy according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the gondola portion is formed so as to be capable of placing a weight for adjusting a weight balance.   The airship toy according to claim 7, wherein the gondola part includes a hollow box part having an open upper surface and a support part extended from the box part, and the support part can be bonded to the balloon part. .   The airship toy according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the weight is made of paper.   The airship toy according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the propeller is made of styrene.   The shaft portion of the propeller is a rigid linear member extending into the tubular member, and the elastic member is connected to the linear member. The airship toy described.   A bearing end cap fitted into one end of the tubular member is further provided, and the linear member rotatably penetrates a hole formed in the center of the bearing end cap. The airship toy described.   The airship toy according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the linear member is a piano wire.   The airship toy according to claim 1, wherein the elastic member is made of a loop-shaped rubber.   An end cap is fitted into an end opposite to the end of the tubular member to which the propeller is attached, and the end cap includes a portion of the elastic member and an inner wall of the tubular member. The airship toy according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the other end of the elastic member is fixed to the tubular member by being sandwiched in cooperation.   The airship toy according to any one of claims 1 to 15, wherein the balloon portion is made of a barrier film.   The airship toy according to claim 16, wherein the barrier film is an aluminum vapor-deposited film or a multilayer film obtained by coating a base material with a mixture of an organic polymer and an inorganic layered compound.   The airship toy according to any one of claims 1 to 17, wherein a thread is attached to a side surface of the airship toy.   An airship toy kit including each component of the airship toy according to any one of claims 1 to 18. A hollow tubular member;
A propeller rotatably attached to one end of the tubular member;
An elastic member disposed inside the tubular member and stretched between a shaft portion of the propeller and the other end portion of the tubular member;
A power mechanism for a flying toy.

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