JP3472924B2 - Multifunctional playground equipment - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a multi-function play equipment suitable for use in, for example, children's play tools, prevention of functional deterioration of the brain and fingers of the elderly, rehabilitation after illness, and recovery of hand dysfunction.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, it is preferable that an infant or a child's playground equipment be less dangerous and have fun, and at the same time contribute to education in the growth process. In addition, the correlation between the movements of fingers and the functions of cranial nerves has been studied in elderly people, and verification results have been shown that those who perform work such as moving their hands are less likely to suffer dementia.

[0003]

Conventionally, there has been no play equipment having an educational effect such as a pitch even at a play interval, which is fun to touch and requires movements of fingers, and the appearance thereof has been desired.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object thereof is to manufacture it at a low cost with a simple structure, to have a fun and educational effect by trying, and to make it possible for children, old age It is to provide a multi-function play equipment that can be effectively used for recovery and recovery exercises for persons with physical impairments of the hands and fingers.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention is attached to a body 12 having a hollow interior having flexibility and shape restoration and an opening 20 provided in the body 12 so as to communicate with each other. The sound generator 14 that generates a sound of different pitch or sound quality due to the air pressure when the main body is compressed from the outside with the opening opened, and the sound of the sound generator 14 is generated and muted while opening and closing the opening 20. A valve mechanism 16 for allowing the valve mechanism 16 to operate, and an operation unit 18 that is provided in an exposed portion of the main body 12 and that is linked to the valve mechanism 16 and that controls the sound generation or muffling of the sound by moving the finger through a finger. It is composed of a multi-function play equipment which is used while generating sound by moving a finger while holding the main body on the palm.

Further, the operator 38 of the multi-function play equipment is the main body 12
It may be arranged in a row with respect to.

Further, the main body 12 of the multifunctional play equipment may be formed in a size that can be held by the palm.

Further, a plurality of valve mechanisms of the multi-function play equipment are provided in the main body so as to correspond to the respective sound generators, one end side of which is connected to the sound generator and the other end side of which is connected to the opening. A valve box having a valve chamber inside, a valve that is disposed in the valve box and moves forward and backward with respect to the opening while closing the opening in close contact with the inner edge of the opening. A biasing member that constantly biases the opening to close the opening may be provided.

Further, the valve box may be formed of a stretchable elastic member.

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the multi-function play equipment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 to 5 show a multi-function play equipment 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG.
Is a main body 12 having a hollow interior, a sound generator 14 provided inside the main body 12, a valve mechanism 16 that causes the sound of the sound generator 14 to be emitted and silenced, and a valve mechanism 16 And an operation unit 18 which controls sound generation or muffling by a sound generator in cooperation with each other.

In the embodiment, the main body 12 has a spherical shape and is flexible and has a shape restoring property, for example, a flexible synthetic resin member or a rubber member having a certain thickness and capable of restoring the shape, or another elastic member. It is formed by. Then, the main body 12 has four openings formed by arranging the main surface 12 in a substantially row shape on the spherical surface with a required space therebetween and forming four holes. This body 12
Inside each of the above, a total of four sound generators 14 are arranged near each opening 20.

The sound generator 14 is attached to the openings 20 so as to communicate therewith, and the main body 1 is provided with the openings 20 open.
A mechanism for generating a sound such as a whistle or a bell, which generates a sound with a different pitch or sound quality due to the air pressure generated when 2 is compressed from the outside, and which directly generates a sound by the flow of air. However, in the present embodiment, for example, a lead as a sounding device that applies a thin metal piece in close contact with the openings to generate a sound of a predetermined pitch when the air flows through the openings 20. It is composed of a sound generator including the above.

The sound generation and muffling by the sound generator 14 is performed through the valve mechanism 16. In the present embodiment, the valve mechanism 16 corresponds to each sound generator 14 inside the hollow of the main body 12. The valve mechanism 16 and the sound generator 14 are integrally formed and housed inside the main body 12. 1, 2, and 3, the valve mechanism 16 has a hollow valve chamber 22E.
Is provided with a valve box 22.

In this embodiment, the valve box 22 has, for example, a small diameter on the inner end side located in the center of the hollow inside of the main body 12 and an outer end side of the main body 12 continuously enlarged from the inner end side. The valve box 22 is formed of an elastic member such as a three-dimensional oval rubber that is joined to the opening 20 in an airtight manner, and the inner end of the valve box 22 has a sound including a lead made of a thin metal piece or the like (not shown). The generator 14 is fitted. On the other hand, the outer end side of the valve box 22 is joined and fixed to the edge wall of the opening 20 of the main body 12 by a method such as welding, and the entire valve box 22 is supported inside the hollow portion of the main body 12. That is, the body 12 of this valve box
A valve seat 24 is joined and fixed to the wall of the main body 12 on the outer surface side thereof so as to be substantially flush with the spherical surface of the main body 12. Valve seat 24
A flow path hole 26 that forms a flow path for air is bored in the center of the box to form a donut shape. In this way, the sound generator 14 as a whole is supported in the hollow of the main body 12 toward the center thereof while being mounted on the inner end side of the valve box 22.

2 and 3, the valve seat 24 of the valve box 22 is shown.
A pedestal 28 made of a hemispherical rigid body is fixed so as to cover the outer surface from the outer surface so as to project the spherical surface on the outer surface side. In the present embodiment, the pedestal 28 is made of, for example, a hard synthetic resin, and the inside of the hemisphere is hollow so that the valve seat 24
Through the flow path hole 26 provided in the center of the valve chamber 22 of the valve box 22.
It communicates with 2E. This pedestal 28 is formed with two air escape openings 30 and has the same hemispherical pedestal 28.
The inside of the hollow and the outside on the atmosphere side communicate with each other through these openings 30. A valve element 32 is provided in the flow path hole 26 of the valve seat 24 so as to move back and forth.

The valve element 32 is attached to the flow path hole 26 of the valve seat 24 so as to be movable back and forth in a direction substantially normal to the spherical surface of the main body 12, and the inner wall of the valve seat 24 (on the main body 12 side). It is composed of a disk body that can be closely attached to the wall surface facing the hollow center side. Then, the valve element 32 closes the opening of the flow passage hole 26 of the valve seat 24 in a state of being in close contact with the inner wall of the valve seat 24.

One end is fixed to the center of the valve body 32, and the other end is connected to the flow path hole 26 of the valve seat 24 and a hemispherical pedestal 28.
There is provided a rod 34 that penetrates the center of the rod and projects its extended end to the outside on the atmosphere side. And this rod 3
An urging member 36, which is a coil spring and is fitted into the extended protrusion of the valve body 4, is provided.
2 is always urged to close the flow passage hole 26 of the valve seat 24. In the embodiment, the head portion 3 having a spherical screw head shape is provided at the protruding end of the rod 34 extending to the outside.
4A is fixed. The rod 34 forms an operator 38 that opens and closes the flow path hole 26 of the valve seat 24 by the valve body 32, and constitutes a control unit that controls the sound generation or muffling of the sound by the sound generator 14. As a result, by pressing the head portion 34A of the operator 38 from the outside, the flow passage hole 26 of the valve seat 24 is opened against the urging force of the urging member 36, and at the same time, the main body 12 is exposed from the outside. When compressed by applying a crushing operation, a desired sound is generated via the sound generator 14. That is, the operation portion is provided so as to be exposed to the outside of the main body 12 while being linked to the valve mechanism 16. Then, by pressing the operation portion including the operation element 38 and simultaneously crushing the entire main body 12 from the outside, the air inside the hollow inside of the main body is compressed, and the sound generator 14 generates a sound. It is what makes me.

In FIGS. 1 and 4, a cylindrical member 40 made of synthetic resin or the like is provided in the main body 12 in the direction normal to the spherical surface in the portions other than the mounting positions of the sound generator 14 and the valve mechanism 16 of the main body 12 described above.
The cylinder member 40 is inserted into the inside of the cylinder member 40 to be airtightly joined and fixed to the wall of the main body 12 at an intermediate position in the longitudinal direction of the cylinder member.
A check valve mechanism 44 in which one end of a valve 42 such as a rubber valve is fixed to the cylindrical member 40 and the other end is openable and closable is provided on one end inside the body. Therefore, the check valve mechanism 44 prevents the rubber valve 42 from closing the cylindrical member 40 to release air when the compression operation is performed such that the main body 12 is gripped and crushed by the fingers. After the compression of the main body 12, the compression operation is stopped, and when the fingers or the like are released to release the compression, the outside air pushes the rubber valve 42 by the negative pressure suction force inside the main body 12 and introduces the outside air into the hollow of the main body. Has become.

In this embodiment, the main body 12 is formed in such a size that it can be held by the palm of a person. When the main body 12 is formed into a spherical shape as in this embodiment, its diameter is, for example, 2 to 3 cm. The size may be such that even a small baby or the like can hold and press with a finger, or may be formed as a sphere having a larger diameter that can be gripped by an adult person or an aged person.

In the embodiment, the valve box 22 is made of elastic material such as rubber having elasticity, and the main body 12
When the whole is compressed, the valve box 22 flexibly deforms its shape so as to eliminate discomfort for fingers and the like during the compression. The sound generator 14 of the multifunctional play equipment 10 described above.
May form each tone generator as a tone generator of a chord scale that constitutes a musical chord such as a domis or referer, or generate a pitch that can continuously change in a scale. You may do it. Further, the sound generator may be configured to generate a mere whistle, bell sound, or any other sound quality and pitch.

Next, the operation of the multi-function play equipment 10 of the present embodiment will be described. For example, the sound generator 14 makes sounds such as domiso in the angular separation direction from the operator 38A located at the end of FIG. 5 is set, the index finger, the middle finger, the ring finger, and the little finger are sequentially applied to the head portions 34A of the four operators 38, respectively, as shown in FIG. When the thumb is placed on the far end side position of the spherical main body 12 facing the mounting position of, and the thumb is pressed in that state to compress the main body, the main body 12
The rubber valve 42 of the check valve mechanism 42 closes the opening inside the main body of the cylindrical member 40 by the compressed air pressure inside, shuts off the internal air from the cylindrical member 40 so as not to leak to the outside, and the operator 38A, 4 corresponding to 38B, 38C, 38D
No sound is generated from the air escape opening 30 of each of the pedestals 28 by the valve closing operation of the flow path hole 26 by the urging member 36 of the valve element 32 of each valve mechanism 1.

At this time, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, when the head portion 34A of the operating element 38A is pressed by the forefinger and the hollow inside of the body as shown in FIG. 34 and the valve body 32 fixed to the valve body 32 open the flow passage hole 26 of the valve seat 24, whereby internal compressed air is pushed out through the route shown by the arrow in FIG. At this time, air flows through the inside of the valve chamber 22E of the valve box 22 while passing through the sound generator 14, so that the sound generator 14 generates a desired sound, for example, a dead sound as a scale. Similarly, if it is desired to simultaneously generate the chords of the Domiso, the chords can be generated by compressing the main body 12 with the thumb in a state where the operators 38A, 38B and 38C are simultaneously pressed.
In this manner, in this embodiment, by operating each of the five fingers and consciously performing the gripping operation or the pressing operation of each of the fingers with respect to the operating element 38, it is possible to maintain the functions of the fingers and to prevent a failure. It is possible to promote the resuscitation of motor functions such as recovery and recovery of. Therefore, it is effective for phonological education by playing chords in a sense of play, enjoyment by those sounds, and recovery of the motor function of fingers and the like, and can be manufactured with a simple structure at low cost.

The shape of the multi-function play equipment 10 described above is not limited to a sphere, and the shape is not limited as long as it can be gripped by fingers. FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 show another embodiment in which the outer shape of the main body 12 is formed into a substantially rod shape. The main body 12 is a flexible rod and has a shape-restoring hollow interior. Four concave peripheries 46 along the shape of the finger are formed on the peripheral wall, and four concave peripheries 46 are formed in a line in a row in a part where each fingertip is located in a grip state in a part of the concave perimeter 46. An operator 38 is arranged.

In this embodiment, when the main body 12 is grasped, the gripping position of a finger or the like is the outer peripheral shape of the main body 12 and the concave peripheral portion 4 is formed.
Since it is set in advance by 6, the operation of the operator 38 of the operation unit 18 is extremely simple. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, when the middle finger and the ring finger corresponding to the operating elements 38B and 38C are pressed, a sound is generated such that only the forefinger and little finger corresponding to the operating elements 38A and 38D cause the valve element 32 to close. Even in the case of one, it is possible to make the pronunciation sound smoothly. Further, in the case of either of the first and second embodiments described above, it is possible to play a chord having, for example, eight scales or pitches by holding the multifunctional play equipment with both hands, and the exercise function thereof. You can enjoy the joy of playing sounds. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the entire multifunctional play equipment is configured to have a size that can be grasped by the palm, but the size of the main body itself having the hollow portion formed therein may be set to any size. The entire structure may be such that at least a part of the main body that can operate the operation unit 18 and compress the main body 12 by operating the index finger, middle finger, ring finger, and little finger. Further, if there are at least two or more operator 38 of the operation portion and the valve mechanism 16 corresponding thereto, three or four.
One or more pieces may be provided for the main body. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the sound is generated in the sound generator by the compression force inside the hollow only when the operation portion is pressed, but the multifunctional play equipment of the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. Alternatively, when the operation portion is pressed, the flow passage hole 26 of the valve seat 24 may be closed to generate only the sound of the sound generator 14 corresponding to the finger that is not pressed.

[0025]

As described above, according to the multi-function play equipment of the present invention, a main body having flexibility and a shape-restoring property and having a hollow interior, and an opening provided in the main body and connected in a communicating manner, the opening is provided. A sound generator that generates sounds of different pitches or qualities depending on the air pressure when the main body is compressed from the outside in the open state, a valve mechanism that causes the sound generator to generate and mute the sound while opening and closing the opening, and a valve An operating unit that is linked to the mechanism and is provided on the exposed part of the main body to control the sound generation or muffling by the sound generator by moving the finger, and hold the main body in the palm and hold the finger. Because it is used while generating sound by moving it, you can enjoy the movement of your fingertips while operating multiple fingers and the generation of sound due to it, rehabilitation during motor dysfunction and play equipment for infants and children. Dementia of other elderly people It is possible to provide a plaything of the multi-function of the stop, and the like.

Further, by arranging the operating elements in a row with respect to the main body, for example, fingers other than the thumb can be operated in a natural gripping state, and the multifunctional play equipment can be easily and easily operated. It can be operated effectively.

Further, since the main body is formed to have a size that can be held by the palm, it is possible to perform exercise or play by a specific pressing operation of the fingertips while holding with one hand or both hands.

A plurality of valve mechanisms are provided in the main body corresponding to the respective sound generators, and a valve chamber having one end communicating with the sound generating member and the other end communicating with the opening. A valve box inside, a valve that is arranged in the valve box, moves forward and backward with respect to the operation unit, and closes the opening while closely adhering to the inner edge of the opening, and the valve always closes the opening. The urging member for urging the urging means to easily perform only the sound of the sound generator corresponding to each valve mechanism in response to the pressing operation, and to directly perform the finger movement. It can be effectively generated while being mixed.

Further, since the valve box is formed of the elastic member having elasticity, the valve mechanism or the like arranged in the main body does not come into contact with the hand when the main body is grasped and does not cause discomfort. The main body can be smoothly gripped and opened continuously.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of an overall configuration in which a part of a first embodiment of a multi-function play equipment according to an embodiment of the present invention is broken and cut out for description.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged explanatory diagram of a portion A in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of the operation of the valve mechanism of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a structural explanation and an enlarged operation explanation view of a portion B in FIG.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of a usage state of the multi-function play equipment according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a partially cutaway perspective explanatory view of a multi-function play equipment according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a usage state of the embodiment of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Multi-function playground equipment 12 body 14 sound generator 16 valve mechanism 18 Operation part 22 valve box 24 valve seat 26 channel holes 32 valve 36 Biasing member 38 Manipulator 44 Check valve mechanism

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A flexible and shape-resilient interior is medium
An empty body, It is attached to the opening provided in the main body so that it can be opened.
Depending on the air pressure when the body is compressed from the outside
Generates a pitch or sound qualitySound generatorWhen, Let the sound generator generate and mute the sound while opening and closing the opening.
Valve mechanism, It is connected to the valve mechanism and is provided on the exposed part of the main body.finger
Through movingSound generation or mute by the sound generator
An operation unit that controls the sound,Equipped with Make a sound by moving your finger while holding the main unit on the palm.
Use while alive A multifunctional playground equipment that is characterized by that. 2. The multi-function play equipment according to claim 1, wherein the operation parts are arranged in a line with respect to the main body. 3. The multi-function play equipment according to claim 1, wherein the main body is formed in a size that can be held by a palm. 4. A plurality of valve mechanisms are provided in the main body so as to correspond to respective sound generators, and a valve chamber having one end connected to the sound generator and the other end connected to the opening. A valve box inside, a valve that is arranged in the valve box and moves forward and backward with respect to the operation part to close the inner edge of the opening while closing the opening, and the valve always closes the opening. The multi-function play equipment according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a biasing member that biases the play mechanism. 5. The multi-function play equipment according to claim 4, wherein the valve box is formed of an elastic member having elasticity.