WO2008029495A1

WO2008029495A1 - Toy for pet

Info

Publication number: WO2008029495A1
Application number: PCT/JP2007/000519
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ryo Kitamura
Original assignee: Ryo Kitamura
Priority date: 2006-09-08
Filing date: 2007-05-15
Publication date: 2008-03-13
Also published as: JPWO2008029495A1

Abstract

A toy for stimulating the wild nature instinct (hunting instinct) of a pet and letting a pet get absorbed. A coated moving body toy (10) comprises a drive section (11), a moving body (13) rotating around the drive section (11), and a coating sheet (12) laid on the drive section (11) and the moving body (13). The drive section (11) and the moving body (13) are coupled through an elastic coupling rod (14), and these coupling rod (14) and the moving body (13) are arranged under the coating sheet (12). When viewed from the outside, a portion of the coating sheet (12) seems to swell, and the swelling portion (13x) moves variously to arouse the interest of a pet such as a cat.

Description

Specification

Toy for pets

Technical field

[0001] The present invention relates to a toy for pets such as cats.

Background art

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes a typical conventional toy for pet animals. This toy includes a main body placed on the floor or the like, a rotating shaft extending vertically upward from the main body, and a rotating rod extending horizontally from the rotating shaft. A string with a tuft is attached to the tip of the rotating rod. The main body incorporates a motor for rotating the rotating shaft. When the rotating shaft is rotated by this motor, the rotating rod rotates and the tufted string attached to the tip of the rotating rod moves flatly. This intensifies the interest of pets such as cats.

Patent Document 1: Japan registered utility model No. 3000984

Disclosure of the invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

[0003] A pet animal is a wild animal that has been turned into a domestic animal by mating and breeding over many years. Pet animals are now animals that live exclusively in the home, but potentially have wild instincts. For example, dogs and cats raised at home represent wild instinct (hunting instinct) at some occasion, such as sudden attacks when small animals are found, and the owner may be surprised, but for dogs and cats, Such an opportunity is fun. Therefore, on such occasions, dogs and cats move quickly with their eyes shining.

[0004] The present invention provides a toy that stimulates the wild instinct of such a pet animal (hunting instinct), and the pet animal is enthusiastic about.

Means for solving the problem

[0005] A companion animal toy according to the present invention, which has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, comprises a translucent or opaque covering sheet material laid on a floor or the like, and under the covering sheet material. And a moving object.

In addition, although the same principle is used, another configuration is as follows: a driving device that is placed on the floor or the like and moves the moving body on the surrounding floor or the like by the built-in motor; and at least a floor in a movable range of the moving body. It is also possible to provide a covering sheet material that covers the above.

The pet toy animal may be provided with a movement control device that randomly moves the moving object.

[0006] The moving body may have an eccentric rotating body that rolls on a floor or the like. Specifically, the moving body includes a rod-shaped member that rotates around the drive device, and an eccentric rotating body that is attached to the tip of the rod-shaped member and rolls on a floor or the like as the rod-shaped member rotates. Can be configured. The eccentric rotating body may be cylindrical, spherical or the like. Needless to say, rolling elements that are not eccentric (that is, rotate around the central axis) or that move in a fixed state without rolling also fall within the scope of the present invention.

[0007] Further, the moving body includes a rod-shaped member that rotates around the drive device, one or a plurality of mounting holes provided in the rod-shaped member, and an object bowl that is detachably mounted in the mounting hole. It is also possible. As the object, it is possible to use a variety of objects that pet animals are interested in, such as feather decorations, poles, and bells.

[0008] The drive device may be constituted by a fixed portion and a rotating body rotatably supported by the fixed portion, and the moving body may be held by the rotating body. And it is good to comprise so that the rotational force of the motor incorporated in the said drive device may be transmitted to the said rotary body via a rotation transmission mechanism.

The invention's effect

[0009] In nature, small animals that prey on other animals do not move under the white sun, but move in the dark to hide. The wild animals that capture it are sensitive to such subtle movements and attack immediately. In the toy for pets according to the present invention, the moving body moves under a semi-transparent or opaque sheathed sheath. Therefore, it reminds us of the movements of small animals that are the target of hunting, and stimulates the hunting instinct of pets. This makes pets play with great interest.

Brief Description of Drawings

[0010] [FIG. 1] A plan view (a) and a side view (b) of a rotating covered moving toy according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

[FIG. 2] A plan view (a) in a state in which the lid of the driving unit and the covering sheet are completely removed, and a sectional view (b) of the driving unit.

FIG. 3 is a development view (a) and a plan view (b) showing another configuration example of the covering sheet.

FIG. 4 is a side view (a), a plan view (b), and a bottom view (c) of a state in which the covering sheet is removed, showing a rotating coated moving toy according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a section cut away.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing the structure inside the fixed part.

[FIG. 8] Side view (a) and plan view (b) showing an example of object mounting.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining a situation when a moving object moves under a covering sheet.

FIG. 10 is a side view (a) showing a rotary covered moving body according to a third embodiment of the present invention, partly broken away, and another side view (b).

[Fig. 11] Top view with the rotating cover removed

FIG. 12 is an operation explanatory diagram of the rotating cover.

FIG. 13 is a view for explaining the procedure for attaching the covering sheet.

Explanation of symbols

[0011] 1 0 ... Rotating coated moving toy

1 1 ... Drive unit

1 1 a… Lid

1 2… Coating sheet

1 2 a… fragment 1 4 ... Connecting rod

2 1… Fixed part

2 2… Rotating part

2 3… Motor

2 3 a ... axis

2 4 ... Battery box

2 5… Control section

2 6… Receiver

2 7… Friction roller

2 8… Support roller

2 9… driven roller

3 0 ... string

3 1… Rotating cover

3 2… Cap

5 1… dried

5 2 ... sphere

5 4… Object

6 1… Notch recess 6 1

6 2… Tube

6 5… Motor holding part

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0012] Several embodiments in which the present invention is applied to a rotationally coated moving toy will be described with reference to the drawings.

Example 1

FIG. 1 to FIG. 3 show a rotating type coated moving toy that is a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1 (a), the toy 10 of this embodiment has a configuration in which a drive unit 11 is arranged at the center and a covering sheet 12 is spread around the drive unit 11. As shown by the broken line in Fig. 1 (b), the moving body 1 3 protrudes laterally from the drive unit 1 1, and the drive unit 1 1 The moving body 13 is connected by a connecting rod 14 having elasticity. Both the connecting rod 14 and the moving body 13 are disposed under the covering sheet 12. Therefore, when viewed from the outside, as shown in Fig. 1 (a), it seems that a part of the covering sheet 12 is raised, and this raised part (covering moving body) 1 3 X varies depending on the mechanism described later. It moves a lot.

As shown in FIGS. 2 (a) and (b), the drive unit 1 1 includes a lid 1 1 a that holds the covering sheet 1 2, a central fixing unit 2 1 that is fixed to the floor, etc. It is provided with a ring-shaped rotating portion 22 that is rotatably provided. FIG. 2 (a) shows a plan view of the drive unit 11 with the lid 1 1a and the covering sheet 1 2 completely removed, and FIG. 2 (b) shows a half sectional view. The covering sheet 12 is made of one piece of cloth or vinyl sheet having a circular hole in the center, and the inner periphery thereof is fitted in the groove on the periphery of the lid 11 a.

The connecting rod 14 is fixed to the rotating part 22. A motor 2 3, a battery box 24, a control unit 25, and a receiving unit 26 are provided inside the fixed unit 21. A friction roller 27 is attached to the tip of the shaft of the motor 23, and this is in contact with the upper surface of the rotating part 22. As shown in Fig. 2 (b), a support roller 28 is provided on the lower surface of the rotating part 2 2 at the same location. The rotating part 2 2 is sandwiched between the two rollers 2 7 and 2 8 and the motor 2 3 To rotate the rotating part 2 2 around the fixed part 2 1. In addition, in order to stabilize the rotation of the rotating part 2 2, in addition to the shaft end of the motor 2 3, the fixed part 2 1 has three driven rollers 2 9 every 90 degrees (total of 4 places). Is provided.

The moving body 13 is a cylindrical object that can freely rotate around the connecting rod 14. The connecting rod 14 is attached not to the central axis of the cylindrical moving body 13 but to a position slightly deviated therefrom. Therefore, the moving body 13 rolls eccentrically as it moves on the floor, causing the covering sheet 12 to vibrate up and down. When viewed from the outside, this makes the movement of the moving body 13 more complex.

[0016] In the toy 10 of the present embodiment, a soft string 30 is attached to the tip of the moving body 13 so that it slightly protrudes from the covering sheet 12. This is also love It has become an intriguing tool for animals.

[0017] The motor 23 is driven by electric power from the battery. The power supply from the battery to the motor 23 is controlled by the control unit 25, and the control unit 25 is controlled by a radio command from the outside. A wireless command from the outside is transmitted to the control unit 25 via the reception unit 26. In this embodiment, the wireless control is used. However, of course, wired control may be used, or scheduled control may be performed in which a switch is turned on and then moves according to a predetermined program. In this case, it is desirable to program the moving body 1 3 so that it moves randomly rather than regularly.

FIG. 3 shows another configuration example of the covering sheet 12. Covered sheath shown in Fig. 3

卜 12 is a strip-shaped piece 1 2 a connected by a rubber string etc. into a ring shape. As a result, the movement of the moving object 1 3 looks more complicated, and while the pet or other pet animal is playing with the moving object 1 3, these pieces 1 2 a can be entangled with the cat or the like and give more stimulation. It becomes like this.

Example 2

[0019] Figs. 4 to 9 show a rotating covered moving toy according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and the description will focus on differences from the first embodiment. The same parts as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals. As shown in FIGS. 4 to 7, the drive unit 1 1 of the toy 10 according to the present embodiment includes a fixed unit 21, a rotary cover 3 1 that covers the upper surface of the fixed unit 21, and the rotary cover 3 1. A cap 32 is provided in the upper center. On the cap 32, an operation knob 33 is provided for turning the power supply to 0N / 0FF.

[0020] The battery box 24 is provided at the center of the lower surface of the fixed portion 21. A support 34 is fixed to the upper surface of the battery box 24, and the rotary cover 31 is rotatably supported by the support 34.

A motor case 35 is attached to the inside of the fixed portion 21, and the motor 23 is disposed in the motor case 35. Bearing holes 3 6 and 3 7 are provided on the upper surface of the motor case 3 5 and the fixed portion 2 1 in the motor case 3 5, respectively. The shaft 3 8 is inserted into these bearing holes 3 6 and 3 7. Has been passed. Axis 3 8 A drive pulley 39 is fixed to a portion of the motor case 35 protruding above the motor case 35. A worm wheel 40 is fixed to a portion of the shaft 3 8 located between the bearing holes 3 6 and 3 7.

A worm 41 that fits into the worm wheel 40 is fixed to the tip of the shaft 2 3 a of the motor 23. The rotation of the motor 23 is transmitted to the drive pulley 39 by the worm gear mechanism comprising the worm wheel 40 and the worm 4 1.

A driven pulley 4 2 is rotatably supported on the support 3 4. The rotating cover 31 is detachably attached to the driven pulley 42. A rubber bell 卜 4 3 is stretched between the driven pulley 4 2 and the driving pulley 3 9, and the driven pulley 4 2 and the rotating cover 3 1 Are designed to rotate together.

[0022] In the toy of the present embodiment, the moving body 13 is composed of a basket 51 and a spherical body 52 provided integrally at the tip thereof. Unlike the first embodiment, the moving body 13 of this embodiment is made of, for example, plastic having high rigidity, and is attached to the side surface of the rotating cover 31. For example, three holes 53 are provided in the flange 51, and the object 54 can be attached as shown in FIGS. 8 (a) and 8 (b). Although examples of object 54 in FIG. 8 include feather decorations, poles, and bells, they are not limited to these. Also, the number of objects 5 4 to be attached to 1 5 1 is not limited to three, but may be one or two.

The cap 3 2 is screwed onto the upper portion of the support 3 4. The covering sheet 1 2 is made of a substantially rectangular sheet, and a hole in the center is passed through the upper part of the support 3 4, and the cap 3 2 is screwed from above to support the covering sheet 1 2. Fixed to body 3-4.

FIG. 9 shows the relationship between the position of the moving body 13 and the covering sheet 12. In FIG. 8, an alternate long and two short dashes line S indicates the locus of the tip of the moving body 13. As shown in FIG. 9, when the motor 23 is driven, the moving body 14 rotates together with the rotary cover 31. At this time, since the covering sheet 12 is rectangular, the moving object is within the range indicated by R 1. 1 When the 3 is located, the moving body 1 3 is entirely hidden by the covering sheet 1 2, but when the moving body 1 3 is located within the range indicated by R 2, a part or all of the sphere 5 2 is covered

1 Located outside of 2. For this reason, the sphere 52 can be seen from the outside. In this way, the sphere 52 can be seen and hidden according to the rotational position of the moving body 13, and the interest of the pet animal is intrigued.

[0024] When the object 5 4 is attached to the object 5 1, the object 5 4 moves under the covering sheet 1 2 as the moving object 1 3 rotates, and sometimes a part of the object 5 4 is removed. It can be seen from. Therefore, by attaching the object 54, the movement under the covering sheet 12 becomes more complicated than when only the moving object 13 is used, and a strong stimulus can be given to pets such as cats. Example 3

[0025] FIGS. 10 to 13 show a rotary covered moving toy according to a third embodiment of the present invention, which will be described mainly with respect to differences from the second embodiment. The same parts as those in the second embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals. The toy 10 of the present embodiment is different from the second embodiment in the rotation transmission mechanism for transmitting the rotational force of the motor 23 to the rotation cover 31 and the method for attaching the covering sheet 12.

Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, a semicircular cutout recess 61 is provided in the peripheral wall portion of the fixing portion 21, and the motor 23 has its shaft 23 a It is arranged in the fixed part 21 so as to be located in the notch recess 61. A cylindrical rubber tube 62 is passed through the shaft 23a, and when the rotating cover 31 is mounted on the fixed portion 21, a tube is formed on the lower surface of the peripheral wall portion of the rotating cover 31. 6 2 is in contact. With such a configuration, when the motor 23 is driven and the tube 6 2 rotates, the rotation is directly transmitted to the rotating cover 3 1, and the rotating cover 3 1 rotates around the support 3 4.

The motor 23 is held by a motor holding part 65 provided on the bottom surface of the fixing part 21. The motor holding portion 65 is composed of a portion surrounded by a U-shaped hole 66 formed on the bottom surface of the fixing portion 21 and is elastically deformable in the vertical direction.

As shown in Fig. 1 2 (a), the rotating cover 3 1 is removed from the fixed part 2 1 Thus, when the motor 23 is held by the motor holding portion 65, the tube 62 is configured to be positioned above the notch recess 61.

[0027] When the rotating cover 3 1 is attached to the fixed portion 21 in this state, as shown in Fig. 12 (b), the lower surface of the peripheral wall portion of the rotating cover 3 1 contacts the tube 62, and the rotating cover 3 1 load is applied to tube 6 2. As a result, the motor holding portion 65 is elastically deformed downward, and the tube 62 is positioned in the notch recess 61. However, at this time, the tube 62 is not yet in contact with the notch recess 61. Accordingly, the tube 6 2 is strongly pressed against the lower surface of the peripheral wall portion of the rotating cover 31 by the restoring force of the motor holding portion 65 that is elastically deformed downward, and the tube 62 is relatively between the peripheral wall portion and the tube 6 2. A stable friction force acts. For this reason, when the motor 23 is driven and the tube 6 2 rotates, the rotational force is transmitted to the rotary cover 31, and the rotary cover 31 rotates together with the tube 6 2.

[0028] Further, when an excessive load is applied to the rotating cover 31, the tube 62 is pushed into the notch recess 61 and pressed into the notch recess 61 while the motor holding portion 65 is moved downward. Elastically deforms. Thus, the notch recess 61 functions as a refuge for the tube 62 when it receives an overload. As a result, even if a pet such as a dog rides on the rotating cover 3 1 or presses the rotating cover 3 1 and an excessive load is applied to the rotating cover 3 1, the motor 2 3 is damaged. Can be prevented. When the excessive load is lost, the motor holder 65 is elastically deformed upward, but for a while until the motor holder 65 returns to the original state, the tube 6 2 and the rotating cover 3 1 The frictional force acting during the period is weakened. For this reason, the rotational force of the tube 6 2 is not transmitted well to the rotary cover 3 1, and the motor 2 3 rotates idly.

FIG. 13 shows a procedure for attaching the covering sheet rod 12. The coated sheet of this example

1 2 is made of a substantially circular cloth, and can be attached to the drive unit by fitting the central hole into the gap between the cap and the rotating cover. An annular rubber is passed through the peripheral edge of the central hole of the cover sheet 1 2, and the rubber is stretched to widen the hole, thereby forming a gap between the cap and the rotating cover. Can be attached.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and for example, the following modifications are possible.

The covering sheet 1 2 does not need to be completely opaque, and may be semi-transparent. Further, the covering sheet 12 may be configured to have an opaque part and a transparent or translucent part, or may be in the form of a net. With such a configuration, the movement of the moving body 14 4 is observed even from the top of the covering sheet 12. Therefore, it is possible to give the pet a different stimulus than when using the completely opaque covering sheet 12.

The drive source may be other power sources such as an electromagnet in addition to the motor 23.

Claims

The scope of the claims

[1] a) A translucent or opaque covering sheet material laid on a floor, etc.

b) a moving body that moves under the covering sheet material;

A toy for pets, comprising:

[2] a) A driving device that is mounted on a floor or the like and moves a moving body on the surrounding floor or the like by a built-in motor;

b) a covering sheet material covering at least a part of the floor or the like within the movable range of the moving body;

A toy for pets, comprising:

3. The pet toy according to claim 2, further comprising a movement control device that randomly moves the moving object.

[4] The toy for a pet animal according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the moving body has an eccentric rotating body that rolls on a floor or the like.

[5] The moving body includes a rod-shaped member that rotates around the drive device, and an eccentric rotating body that is attached to the tip of the rod-shaped member and rolls on a floor or the like as the rod-shaped member rotates. The toy for pets according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the toy is for pets.

[6] The moving body includes a rod-shaped member that rotates around a driving device, one or more mounting holes provided in the rod-shaped member, and an object rod that is detachably mounted in the mounting hole. The toy for pet animals according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the toy is for pet animals.

[7] The drive device includes a fixed portion, a rotating body that is rotatably supported by the fixed portion and holds the moving body, and a rotation transmission mechanism that transmits the rotational force of the motor to the rotating body. The toy for pet animals according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the toy is for pet animals.