JP4495242B2 - Accelerator - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an acceleration device, and more particularly to an acceleration device for a toy vehicle.

  Patent Documents 1 to 3 listed below are examples of driving a driving roller by a motor and launching and driving a toy vehicle by the driving roller. In each of the launching devices of these patent documents, a part of a pair of driving rollers having axes arranged in parallel is faced to the side surface of the traveling path, and the toy vehicle is sandwiched by the driving rollers from both side surfaces thereof. The toy vehicle is fired by the drive roller.

US Pat. No. 5,299,969 (see FIG. 5) US Pat. No. 5,899,789 (see FIG. 3) US Pat. No. 6,695,675 (see FIGS. 2 to 4)

By the way, when both sides of a toy vehicle are sandwiched between a pair of drive rollers and fired straight, it is necessary to synchronize the rotational speeds of both drive rollers. If the drive rollers are not synchronized, the toy vehicle cannot be launched straight. In addition, when both sides of a toy vehicle are sandwiched between a pair of drive rollers and fired, a drive roller installation space is required on the side of the travel path, so it is difficult to provide a plurality of travel paths adjacent to each other. is there.
The main object of the present invention is to provide an acceleration device for a toy vehicle that can directly launch the toy vehicle. It is another object of the present invention to provide an accelerating device that can prevent hand contact with a driving roller being driven.

The invention of claim 1
An acceleration device for a toy vehicle,
An acceleration region in which a part of the toy vehicle travel path is provided;
A driving roller that partially protrudes on the traveling path of the acceleration region and whose outer peripheral surface abuts on the bottom surface of the toy vehicle that enters the acceleration region;
A motor as a power source of the drive roller;
An urging means that presses the toy vehicle that is provided in the acceleration region and is on the travel path against the drive roller from above;
In the acceleration device configured to accelerate and discharge the toy vehicle entering the acceleration region by the cooperation of the driving roller and the urging means ,
A cover member that prevents insertion of a hand up to the drive roller when the entrance and exit of the toy vehicle are formed and is detachable and in a mounted state, and a cover member detection for detecting the presence or absence of the mounted state of the cover member And an acceleration device configured to stop driving of the driving roller when the cover member is not in a mounted state .

The invention of claim 2 is the acceleration device according to claim 1,
The biasing means includes a swinging member that swings in a vertical direction around a predetermined horizontal axis, and a toy that is provided at one end of the swinging member and spaced from the horizontal axis and enters the acceleration region. An idler roller that rolls following the upper surface of the vehicle and moves the swinging member up and down around the horizontal axis, and a spring that biases the idler roller toward the drive roller via the swinging member It is characterized by providing.

The invention according to claim 3 is the acceleration device according to claim 1 or 2,
A track member is connectable to the travel path provided in the acceleration region, and a track detection means for detecting whether or not the track member is connected is provided on the exit side of the acceleration region, The driving roller is configured to stop driving when the raceway member is not connected .

The invention of claim 4 is the acceleration device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Voice output means for outputting voice; and entry detection means for detecting the presence or absence of a toy vehicle entering the acceleration area provided on the entrance side of the acceleration area, and the voice when the toy vehicle enters It is characterized by uttering sound from the output means .

Invention of Claim 5 is the acceleration apparatus as described in any one of Claim 1 to 4,
The drive roller is composed of two roller halves that are formed separately and have an annular groove concentric with the roller shaft on one end surface orthogonal to the roller shaft, and the end surfaces of the two roller halves are abutted against each other. It is characterized by the structure.

The invention of claim 6 is the acceleration device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
A plurality of the traveling paths are provided in the acceleration region, each of the plurality of traveling paths is provided with the driving roller and the urging means, and the plurality of driving rollers are fixed coaxially. And

According to the first to sixth aspects of the present invention, the toy vehicle is accelerated by the cooperation of the driving roller that contacts the bottom surface of the toy vehicle and the biasing member that contacts the top surface of the toy vehicle, so that straightness is ensured. The Further, since the driving roller and the urging means are arranged vertically, the driving roller and the urging means do not expand in the width direction of the traveling path, and particularly when a plurality of traveling paths are arranged side by side as in the invention of claim 6 , it is compact. A traveling trajectory model can be constructed. Further, according to the first to sixth aspects of the present invention, the cover member that covers the gate and prevents the insertion of the hand up to the drive roller when in the mounted state is provided. Therefore, while the drive roller is being driven, On the other hand, since the drive roller automatically stops when the cover member is removed when the toy vehicle is clogged, there is no need to bother to turn off the power.
According to the invention of claim 2, since the idle roller abuts on the upper surface of the toy vehicle and the toy vehicle is urged toward the drive roller by the idle roller, the operability of the swing member is enhanced.
According to the invention of claim 3 , since the toy vehicle is not accelerated unless the track member is connected to the exit side, the toy vehicle can be prevented from being damaged due to the toy vehicle jumping out in an unintended direction.
According to the invention of claim 4 , since a passing sound is generated each time the toy vehicle passes, it is possible to enhance a sense of reality.
According to the invention of claim 5, since the intermediate portion in the width direction of the outer peripheral surface of the drive roller is deformed following the bottom surface of the toy vehicle and comes into contact with the bottom surface of the toy vehicle without coming into contact with the toy vehicle, Can be launched and accelerated.

It is the perspective view which showed the circuit provided with the acceleration apparatus which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is the perspective view which showed the gate type accelerator conceptually. It is sectional drawing which showed the connection structure of a motor and a drive roller. It is sectional drawing of a drive roller. It is sectional drawing which showed the mechanism of discharge (acceleration) of a toy vehicle. It is the figure which showed a part of motor drive circuit. It is the figure which showed a part of audio | voice output circuit. It is the perspective view which showed the traveling path provided with the acceleration device which concerns on 2nd Embodiment.

Hereinafter, an acceleration device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1. First Embodiment FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a circuit model equipped with an acceleration device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view conceptually showing the acceleration device, and FIG. 3 is a power source and a drive. FIG. 4 is a sectional view conceptually showing a roller driving mechanism, FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the driving roller, FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a launching mode of the toy vehicle, and FIG. 6 is an example of a motor driving circuit. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a sound generation circuit.

FIG. 1 shows a circuit model to which the acceleration device according to the embodiment is applied. The circuit model 2 includes two gates 3 and has a structure in which track members 2a (see FIG. 2) constituting a straight traveling path and a curved traveling path are appropriately connected to the two gates 3.
The main part of the gate-type accelerator 1 is provided on the two gates 3. The gate-type acceleration device 1 is not particularly limited, and functions to continuously drive a toy vehicle (automobile toy) A having no power with a gate-type acceleration device so as to travel on the traveling road. That is, the portion of the gate 3 constitutes an acceleration region.

The two gates 3 are not particularly limited, but are coupled to each other via a connecting portion 3a. The connecting portion 3a is provided with a power source and a sound generating means 53 described later.
As shown in FIG. 2, two parallel traveling paths 3 b are formed on the floor surface of the gate 3.
A gate type acceleration device 10 is provided across the gate 3 and the connecting portion 3a.
In the circuit model 2 of the embodiment, since four sets of drive rollers 11 and biasing means 12 described later are provided, it can be considered that four gate type acceleration devices 10 are provided. It can be considered that two gate type acceleration devices 10 are provided when two sets of driving rollers 11 and biasing means 12 provided on one gate 3 are regarded as one gate type acceleration device 10. Furthermore, the whole can be considered as one gate type accelerator 10. In the following description, for convenience of explanation, one set of the drive roller 11 and the urging means 12 will be described as the gate type acceleration device 10.

The acceleration device 10 includes a driving roller 11 and an urging unit 12 provided on the gate 3.
As shown in FIG. 3, the driving roller 11 is fixed to a roller shaft 13 that extends in the width direction below the traveling path 3 b of the gate 3. The roller shaft 13 is also provided with a driving roller 11 of the adjacent acceleration device 10. The driving roller 11 has an upper end protruding from the traveling path 3b. The drive roller 11 is made of an elastic synthetic resin such as silicon. As shown in FIG. 4, the drive roller 11 has a structure in which two roller halves 11a formed separately are combined. The roller half body 11 a is formed by forming an annular groove 11 b concentric with the roller shaft 13 on one end surface orthogonal to the roller shaft 13. One drive roller 11 is formed by bringing the two roller halves 11a into contact with the end surfaces on the groove forming side. According to the drive roller 11, the presence of the hollow portion due to the annular groove 11b facilitates deformation along the bottom surface of the toy vehicle A, while both corner portions of the drive roller 11 (corner portions between the end surface and the peripheral surface). Strongly hits the bottom surface of the toy vehicle A, so that the toy vehicle can be abutted without hitting and the toy vehicle can be launched (accelerated) straightly and reliably.
As shown in FIG. 3, the driving force of the driving roller 11 is given by a motor 14 installed below the traveling path 3 b of the gate 3. That is, the rotational power of the motor 14 is transmitted to the drive roller 11 via the gear mechanism 15 and the roller shaft 13.
The motor 14, the gear mechanism 15, and the roller shaft 13 are shared with the adjacent gate type acceleration device 10.
In the above description, the roller half body 11a has a structure in which the annular groove 11b concentric with the roller shaft 13 is formed on one end surface. However, the roller half body 11a is located closer to the roller shaft 13 than the annular groove 11b on the opposite end surface. Alternatively, another annular groove concentric with the roller shaft 13 may be formed. In this case, as a shape, a cross section from the central axis to the peripheral surface of the roller half 11a is S-shaped or inverted S-shaped. When the two roller halves 11a are combined to form one drive roller 11, it is preferable to configure one drive roller 11 by bringing the end surfaces on which the annular grooves 11b are formed into contact with each other. While the cross section is S-shaped or inverted S-shaped, the softness comes out, and the holding force increases by softly contacting the bottom surface of the toy vehicle A, while the corner portion between the outer end surface of the drive roller 11 and the peripheral surface Is relatively hard and hits the bottom surface of the toy vehicle A without hitting it.

As shown in FIG. 2, the urging unit 12 includes a swing member 20 and a spring 21.
The swing member 20 is attached to a swing shaft (horizontal shaft) 22 that extends in the horizontal direction at an intermediate portion, and is configured to swing up and down about the swing shaft 22. An idle roller 23 is attached to one end of the swing member 22. The idle roller 23 rolls along the upper surface of the toy vehicle A entering the gate 3 to move the swinging member 20 up and down. Note that the swing shaft 22 of the swing member 20 is preferably behind the idle roller 23 in the traveling direction of the toy vehicle A. By doing so, the swing of the swing member 20 when the toy vehicle A enters becomes smoother.
The spring 21 is stretched between the other end of the swing member 20 and the ceiling wall of the gate 3. The spring 21 biases the idle roller 23 toward the drive roller 11.

Further, the gate type acceleration device 1 includes a cover member 30 that covers the gate 3. The cover member 30 is formed with an inlet 30a and an outlet 60b that are large enough to allow passage of the toy vehicle A. The cover member 30 functions to cover the gate 3 and prevent hand insertion up to the drive roller 11 when in the mounted state. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the gate type acceleration device 1 is provided with a cover detection unit 33.
That is, as shown in FIG. 3, the cover member 30 is seated on the shoulder portion across the traveling path 3 b of the gate 3 in the mounted state. Insertion pieces 31 are attached to the lower ends of the supporting leg portions at both ends in the width direction of the cover member 30. On the other hand, an insertion port 32 is formed in the shoulder portion of the gate 3. When the cover member 30 is mounted, the insertion piece 31 of the cover member 30 is inserted into the insertion port 32 of the gate 3.
The cover detection means 33 is provided inside the insertion port 32. The cover detection means 33 is not particularly limited, but is constituted by a leaf switch. The cover detection means 33 is for detecting whether or not the cover member 30 is attached. When the cover detection means 33 is not in the mounted state of the cover member 30, the motor 14 is stopped.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the gate type acceleration device 1 is provided with a trajectory detection means 41.
That is, the notch 40 is formed at the exit side end of the traveling path 3 b of the gate 3. On the other hand, a projecting portion 42 is attached to the track member 2 a connected to the exit side of the traveling path 3 b of the gate 3. When the track member 2a is connected, the convex portion 42 of the track member 2a is fitted into the notch 40 of the gate 3 from above.
The trajectory detecting means 41 is provided inside the notch 40. The trajectory detection means 41 is not particularly limited, but is constituted by a leaf switch. The track detection means 41 is for detecting whether or not the track member 2a is connected. When the track detection means 41 is not connected to the track member 2a, the motor 14 is stopped.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 5, the gate type acceleration device 1 is provided with an entry detecting means 51. The entry detection means 51 is not particularly limited, but is configured from a leaf switch.
That is, the movable floor 52 is provided at the entrance side portion of the traveling path 3 b of the gate 3. The movable floor 52 can swing up and down around the horizontal axis, and the free end portion protrudes from the travel path 3b under normal conditions by the biasing force of the spring. The movable floor 52 moves downward with its weight when the toy vehicle A gets on.
The entry detection means 51 is provided below the movable floor 52. The entry detection means 51 is for detecting the presence or absence of entry of the toy vehicle A. When the entry detection means 51 detects the entry of the toy vehicle A, a passing sound of the toy vehicle A is emitted.

Next, an example of a circuit configuration of the gate type acceleration device 1 will be described.
FIG. 6 shows a part of the motor drive circuit. The terminals at both ends are connected to a power source or the like. In the middle of the motor drive circuit, a cover detection means 33 and a track detection means 41, which are leaf switches, are provided. In this motor drive circuit, the motor 14 is activated only when the cover detection means 33 detects the mounting state of the cover member 30 and the track detection means 41 detects the connection state of the track member 2a. Yes. In this embodiment, since the motor 14 is provided for each gate 3, a part of the motor drive circuit is a circuit shown in the figure. However, as long as the cover members 30 of both gates 3 are not in the mounted state, It is good also as a circuit structure which does not operate the motor 14. FIG.
FIG. 7 shows a part of the audio output circuit. The terminals at both ends are connected to a power source or the like. In the middle of the sound generation circuit, an entry detecting means 51 which is a leaf switch is provided. In this sound output circuit, when the entry detecting means 51 detects the entry of the toy vehicle A, the sound generating means 53 emits a passing sound. The sound generation means 53 includes a sound synthesis IC, an A / D converter, an amplifier, and a speaker. The entry detection means 51 is provided for each travel path 3b of each gate 3. Therefore, when the sound generating means 53 is used in common, the approach detecting means 51 may be provided in parallel with the sound generating means 53 in the sound output circuit. Further, the sound generating means 53 may be provided for each gate 3 or the sound generating means 53 may be provided for each traveling path 3b.

The overall operation of the gate type acceleration apparatus 1 configured as described above will now be described.
In the gate type acceleration device 1, the motor 14 does not operate unless the cover member 30 is attached to at least the gate 3 and the connecting member 2 a is connected to the gate 3 outlet side.
When the power is turned on in a state where the cover member 30 is attached to the gate 3 and the connecting member 2a is connected to the exit side of the gate 3, the entry detecting means 51 detects whether or not the toy vehicle A has entered. When the entry detection means A detects the entry of the toy vehicle A into the gate 3, the sound generation means 53 emits a passing sound, while the toy vehicle A is driven by the drive roller 11 and the idler roller 23 of the biasing means 12. The toy vehicle A is pressed between the driving roller 11 by the urging force of the spring 21 and is fired (accelerated) forward by the driving roller 11. In this case, the rotational force of the drive roller 11 and the force with which the biasing member 12 flips the rear part of the toy vehicle A are applied to the toy vehicle A.
As a result, the toy vehicle A is not particularly limited, but is given power enough to climb up the banks provided at both ends of the circuit model 2 in the longitudinal direction. The toy vehicle A, which has been powered up and climbed up the bank, now descends the bank by gravity and reaches the gate 3 on the opposite side and is accelerated. As a result, the toy vehicle A continues to lap even when it does not have power. Even if the circuit model 2 is not a circuit course, the toy vehicle A can be continuously run by appropriately providing an uphill and a downhill.
If the toy vehicle A is clogged at the location of the gate 3, the cover member 30 is removed from the gate 3. Then, the toy vehicle A jammed in the gate 3 can be taken out in a state where the power supply to the motor 14 is automatically cut off and the drive motor 11 is stopped.

In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the toy vehicle A is caused to travel in the same direction by rotating the two drive rollers 11 and 11 constituting the acceleration device 10 in the same direction at the same gate. However, you may make it drive | work in a mutually reverse direction.
Moreover, although the car toy was mentioned as an example of the toy vehicle A, a train toy and other toy vehicles can be run using the gate type acceleration device of the present invention.
Further, when an overload is applied to the drive roller 11 for a predetermined time (for example, 1 second) (for example, when the current value supplied to the motor 14 is monitored and the current value exceeds the predetermined value), the motor is automatically set. Control means for cutting off the power supply to 14 may be provided. In this way, when the driving roller 11 is jammed with a car toy or the like, the motor 14 is immediately stopped, and an unexpected situation can be avoided.

2. Second Embodiment A second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. Note that the same members as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.
In the figure, a road having a slope is shown. This travel path is configured by appropriately connecting a large number of track members.
This travel path has an uphill 61. The traveling path constituting the climbing slope 61 is configured in the tunnel 80. The tunnel 80 includes a detachable tunnel outline 80a that covers the traveling path from above. The tunnel outer shell 80a is detachable.
In the tunnel 80, seven sets of the driving roller 11 and the idle roller 23 are provided along the traveling path 61. Among these, the idle roller 23 is provided in the tunnel outer shell 80a. In the second embodiment, the toy vehicle A is made to climb the uphill 61 by the seven drive rollers 11 and the idle rollers 23.
The driving roller 11 is rotationally driven by a motor driving force, and the idle roller 23 is attached to one end (free end) of the swing member 20 and is biased toward the driving roller 11 by a spring 21. Is the same as in the first embodiment. The structure of the drive roller 11 is not particularly limited, but is preferably the same as the structure of the first embodiment.
Further, in the second embodiment, the components and means of the first embodiment are provided as long as there is no reason to obstruct the provision. For example, a trajectory detection unit and a voice output unit are provided.

In the second embodiment, the toy vehicle A that has climbed up the hill goes down the downhill 62 and makes a half turn around the column 63. Here, a manually operable runway switching plate 64 is provided. Depending on the direction of the runway switching plate 64, the toy vehicle A moves down the spiral downhill 65 or toward the jump stand 66.
A manually operable travel switching plate 67 is provided below the spiral downhill 65. Depending on the direction of the travel switching plate 67, the toy vehicle A is discharged from the outlet 68 of the second embodiment or is directed toward the column 69.
The toy vehicle A heading in the direction of the jumping base 66 jumps on the jumping base 66 and goes down the spiral downhill 70 to the starting point of the uphill 51.
On the other hand, the toy vehicle A heading in the direction of the support column 68 enters the downhill 69 from the middle of the spiral downhill 69 and heads for the starting point of the uphill 61.
Reference numeral 71 denotes an entrance, and the toy vehicle A entered from here goes down the downhill 72 toward the starting point of the uphill 61.

  In the second embodiment, a plurality of travel paths may be provided in the acceleration region. In the second embodiment, the climbing slope 61 is configured in the tunnel 80, but it may not be configured in the tunnel 80. If the tunnel 80 is not used, a cover member similar to that of the first embodiment may be provided.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Gate type accelerator 2 Circuit model 2a Track member 3 Gate 3b Traveling path 10 Accelerator 11 Drive roller 11a Roller half body 12 Energizing means 14 Motor 20 Oscillating member 21 Spring 23 Free roller 33 Cover detection means 41 Track detection means 51 Approach detection means 80 Tunnel A Toy vehicle

Claims (6)

An acceleration device for a toy vehicle,
An acceleration region in which a part of the toy vehicle travel path is provided;
A driving roller that partially protrudes on the traveling path of the acceleration region and whose outer peripheral surface abuts on the bottom surface of the toy vehicle that enters the acceleration region;
A motor as a power source of the drive roller;
An urging means that presses the toy vehicle that is provided in the acceleration region and is on the travel path against the drive roller from above;
In the acceleration device configured to accelerate and discharge the toy vehicle entering the acceleration region by the cooperation of the driving roller and the urging means ,
A cover member that prevents insertion of a hand up to the drive roller when the entrance and exit of the toy vehicle are formed and is detachable and in a mounted state, and a cover member detection for detecting the presence or absence of the mounted state of the cover member Means for stopping the drive roller when the cover member is not in the mounted state .   The biasing means includes a swinging member that swings in a vertical direction around a predetermined horizontal axis, and a toy that is provided at one end of the swinging member and spaced from the horizontal axis and enters the acceleration region. An idler roller that rolls following the upper surface of the vehicle and moves the swinging member up and down around the horizontal axis, and a spring that biases the idler roller toward the drive roller via the swinging member The acceleration device according to claim 1, further comprising: A track member is connectable to the travel path provided in the acceleration region, and a track detection means for detecting whether or not the track member is connected is provided on the exit side of the acceleration region, accelerating device of claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it is configured to stop the driving of the driving roller when there are no consolidated state track member. Voice output means for outputting voice; and entry detection means for detecting the presence or absence of a toy vehicle entering the acceleration area provided on the entrance side of the acceleration area, and the voice when the toy vehicle enters The acceleration device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the acceleration device is configured to emit sound from the output means. The drive roller is composed of two roller halves that are formed separately and have an annular groove concentric with the roller shaft on one end surface orthogonal to the roller shaft, and the end surfaces of the two roller halves are abutted against each other. The acceleration device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the acceleration device has a structure as described above. A plurality of the traveling paths are provided in the acceleration region, each of the plurality of traveling paths is provided with the driving roller and the urging means, and the plurality of driving rollers are fixed coaxially. The acceleration device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 .

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