Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
RECONFIGURABLE TOY
Back~round of the Invention
The present invention relates to a reconfigurable toy
and more particularly relates to such a toy which can be
reconfigured from a dinosaur form into a robotic humanoid form,
and vice versa.
In general, a reconfigurable toy assembled from a
plurality of parts can be reconfigured from one form into
another form by moving some common parts, each usually
constituting a different part in the different forms, in contact
with or adjacent to other parts. However, it is rather
difficult to move the common parts readily, easily, securely and
exactly to the predetermined positions when reconfiguring the
toy.
Summary of the Invention
It is an object of ~he present invention to provide a
reconfigurable toy which is capable of being reconfigured
relatively easily, readily, securely and exactly with a very
unexpected image change.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention,
there is provided a reconfigurable toy which can be reconfigured
in a first configuration as a dinosaur form and in a second
configuration as a robotic humanoid form, the toy comprising:
a body having a back portion;
a dinosaur head member and a dinosaur neck member which
are pivotally mounted to the top oE the body and are pivoted
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toward the back portion in the second configuration;
a pair of dinosaur chest members which are pivotally
mounted to the upper part of the body, and closed together in
the first configuration, and are opened in both side directions
in the second configuration~
a simulated robotic head member which is secured to the
top of the body and is covered by the dinosaurian neck member
and the dinosaurian chest members in the first configuration,
and which is brought into sight in the second configuration;
a first member which is movably mounted to the lower
front part of the body, which constitutes a dinosaurian abdomen
member in the first configuration, and which is moved toward the
simulated robotic head member after the dinosaur chest members
are opened in the second configuration, to constitute a
simulated robotic chest member;
a pair of second members which are pivotally mounted to
both sides of the said first member and constituting dinosaur
rear leg members in the first configuration and simulated
robotic arm members in the second configuration;
a simulated robotic waist member which is secured to
the lower front part oE the body, which is covered by the first
member in the first configuration, and which is revealed in the
second configuration;
a pair of simulated robotic thigh members which are
5 pivotally mounted to the simulated robotic waist member;
a pair of third members which are respectively
pivotally mounted to the simulated robotic thigh merrlbers and
constitute dinosaur rump members covering the simulated robotic
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thigh members in the first configuration, and which are pivoted
backwards to constitute simulated robotic shank members in the
second configuration while the simulated robotic thigh members
are revealed; and
a pair of fourth members which are pivotally mounted to
the rear ends of the third members and constitute dinosaur tail
members in the first configuration, and which are pivoted to the
outer sides of the third members to constitute accessaires of
the simulated robotic shank members in the second conflguration.
Also in accordance with the invention there is provided
a reconfigurable toy which is configured in a first
configuration to provide one form and in a second configuration
to provide another form, comprising:
a member constituting a part of said one form in the
first configuration, which is slidably connected to another part
of the said toy, and which is slidably moved together with the
other members to constitute a part of said another form in the
second configuration.
Further in accordance with the invention there is
provided a reconfigurable toy which is configured in a first
configuration to provide one form and in a second configuration
to provide another form, comprising:
a member constituting a part of said one form in the
first configuration, which is pivotally connected to another
member constituting a part of said another form and before
pivoting covers said another member in the first configuration,
and which is pivotally moved to constitute together with said
another member a part of said another form in the second
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configuration while said another member is now revealed.
Other and further objects, features and advantages of
the invention will appear more fully from the foll~winy
description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings~
in which
Brief Description of t~le Drawin~s
Fig. 1 is a side view of a reconfigurable toy according
to the present invention in its dinosaur form or configuration;
Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the configuration of
Fig. 1
Fig. 3 is a schematic side view, like Fig. 1, of the
toy of Fig. 1 to explain its construction;
Fig. 4 is a bottom view of the configuration of Fig. 1,
Fig~ 5 is a perspective view of the toy shown in Fig.
1, showing a midpoint of the reconfiguration from a dlnosaur
form into a robotic humanoid form;
Fig. 6 is a perspective view of an abdomen part and a
body part of the dinosaur form and a head part of the robotic
humanoid form;
Fig. 7 is a perspective view similar to Fig. 6, wherein
the abdomen part has been moved upwards relative to the head
part of the robotic humanoid;
Fig. 8 is a partial bottom view, partial view in
section, of the toy shown in Fig. 1, to explain the
reconfiguring of rump and tail portions of the dinosaur into leg
portions of the robotic humanoid and vice versa;
FigO 9 is a transverse sectional view taken along the
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line IX - IX of Fig. 8;
Fig. l0 is a perspective view of the toy shown in
dinosaur form in Fig. 1, showing a midpoint of the
reconfiguration into the robotic humanoid form;
Fig. 11 is a perspective view of the toy similar to
Fig. 10, showing the finish of the reconfiguration into the
robotic humanoid form;
Fig. 12 is a front view of the toy in the form of Fig.
11; and
Fig. 13 is a side view of the toy in the form of ~ig.
11 .
Description of the Preferred Embodiment
Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference
numerals designate like or corresponding parts throughout the
several views, there is shown in Figs. 1 - 4 a reconfigurable
toy according to the present invention in its dinosaur form.
As clearly shown in Fig. 3, the reconfigurable toy
consists of a body 1 constituting a back portion, a dinosaur
head member 2 pivotally mounted on a dinosaurian neck member 3
so as to be able to pivot through a certain angle rearwards,
which neck member is in turn pivotally mounted to the body 1 via
a pivot shaft 4. A simulated robotic head member S, not seen in
this form from the outside is secured to the rear top of the
body 1, while a pair of right and left dinosaur chest members 6,
each having a respective right or left dinosaur front leg 7 on
its side, are hinged to the upper rear portion of the body 1 via
respective pivot shafts ~, so that the front of the chest part
3~i
can be opened to both sides by movement of the chest members. A
dinosaur abdomen mernber 9 is movably upwar~s mounted to the body
1 through an internal link member 10 and pivot shafts 11 and 12,
which pivotally connect the opposite ends of the link member 10
respectively to the body 1 and to the abdomen member 9. A
simulated robotic waist member 13 not seen from the outside in
this form and positioned in the abdomen member 9, is secured to
the front of the body l; a pair of simulated right and left
robotic thigh members 14, not seen in this form from the outside
are pivotally mounted to the robotic waist member 13t a pair of
dinosaur rump members 15 are each pivotally mounted to the lower
end and outer side of the corresponding robotic thigh member 14
through a pivot shaft 16; and a pair of right and left
dinosaurian tail members 17 are each pivotally mounted to the
corresponding dinosaur rump member 15 so as to open outwards via
a respective pivot shaft 18 and brackets 19 and 20, the brackets
being secured respectively to the respective robotic thigh
member 14 and the respective dinosaur tail member 17.
A pair of right and left dinosaur thigh members 21 are
pivotally mounted to the opposite sides of the dinosaur abdomen
member 9 through respective pivot shafts 22. A pair of right
and left simulated robotic head members 23, only partly seen in
this form from the outside, are pivotally mounted to the front
ends of the corresponding dinosaur thigh members 21 through
respective pivot shafts 24. A pair of right and left dinosaur
shank members 25 are slidably mounted to the corresponding
robotic hand members 23. The dinosaur thigh members 21 and the
dinosaur shank members 25 together constitute respective
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dinosaurian rear leg members. Each dinosaur shank member 25 has
pivotally mounted thereon two front nail members 26 and a rear
nail member 28 through respective pivot shafts 27 and 29.
As is apparent from the above description, the toy in
the dinosaur form stands on the rear leg members 21 through 29,
as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.
The toy having the dinosaur form shown in solid lines
in Figs. 1 to 3 is reconfigured into a simulated robotic
humanoid form, as shown by broken lines in ~ig. 3, as follows.
The dinosaur head member 2 and the dinosaur neck member
3 are pivoted rearwards around the pivot shaft ~, and then the
dinosaur chest members 6 are opened to the right and the left
hand sides around the pivot shafts 8, so that the simulated
robotic head member 5 is now in sight, and with the result that
the dinosaur chest members 6 now constitute robotic wing
members. The dinosaur head member 2, the dinosaur neck member 3
and the dinosaur chest members 6 now are on the back of the
reconfigured simulated robotic humanoid.
The dinosaur shank members 25 are then moved along the
robotic hand membeLs 23 toward the dinosaurian thigh members 21,
so that the robotic hand members 23 are now in sight, and
subsequently the front and the rear nail members 26 and 28 are
pivoked around the respective pivot shafts 27 and 29 towards the
robotic hand members 23 to constitute guard members thereof,
thereby reconfiguring into simulated robotic arms. That is, the
dinosaur thigh members 21 and the dinosaur shank members 25
constitute respectively simulated robotic upper arm members and
simulated robotic forearm members.
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The dinosaur abdomen member 9 is now moved upwards
toward the simulated robotic head member 5, thereby constituting
a simulated robotic chest member and revealing the simulated
robotic waist member 13, as hereinafter described in detail with
reference to Figs. 6 and 7.
The dinosaur tail members 17 are pivoted around the
pivot shafts 18 until their outer sides are adjacent the outer
sides of the dinosaur rump members 15, and then the dinosaur
rump members 15 are pivoted rearwards through 180 degrees around
the respective pivot shafts 16, as hereinafter described in
detail with reference to Figs. 8 and 9, with the result that the
simulated robotic thigh members 14 are now seen, and the upset
dinosaur rump members 15 and the dinosaur tail members 17
constitute simulated robo~ic shank members and their
accessories, as shown in Figs. 5 and 10.
Lastly, the simulated right and left robotic thigh
members 14 are opened sideways to be spaced further apart, as
hereinafter described in detail with reference to Fig. 8,
resulting in that the former dinosaur form reconfigurable toy is
now completely reconfigured into the simulated robotic humanoid
form, as shown in Figs. 11 - 13.
Now, the reconfiguration of the djnosaur abdomen member
9 into the simulated robotic chest member will be described in
detail with reference to Fi~s. 6 and 7. The dinosaur abdomen
member 9 is made of a plastic material in an approximate box
form, and a rectangular slot 9b is formed in the central rear
portion of a top plate 9a of the dinosaur abdomen member 9. A
pair of small engagement holes 31 are provided in the rear end
portion of each side plate 9c o~ t~le dinosaurian abdomen member
9.
A guide plate 5a conforming in shape to the rectangular
slot 9b of the dinosaur abdomen member 9, projects horizontally
frontwards from the top of a stand member la which is provided
integrally in the upper part o~ the body 1. The simulated
robotic head member 5 is mounted on the central portion of the
guide plate 5a.
The dinosaur abdomen member 9 is movably mounted to the
body 1 by the link member 10. One end of the link member 10 is
pivotally mounted to the central portion of the stand member la
by the horizontal pivot shaft 11, and the other end of the link
member 10 is pivotally mounted to the inside of the inner end of
the rectangular slot 9b of the top plate 9a of the dinosaur
abdomen member 9 by the horizontal pivot shaft 12.
It will be understood from the above explanation that
the moving distance of the movable member such as the dinosaur
abdomen member 9 can readily be varied, as occasion demands, by
varying the length of the link member, which is very
advantageous and convenient.
The body 1 is provided with a pair of engagement
projections 32 in the front end portion of each side which
contacts the dinosaur abdomen member 9, so that the engagement
projections 32 may engage in the engagement holes 31 of the side
plate 9c of the dinosaur abdomen member 9, as shown in Fig. 6.
Further the engagement holes 31 and the engagement projections
32 are so formed that the upper engagement projections 32 on
both sides o~ the body 1 may engage with the lower engagernent
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holes 31 of both side plates 9c of the dinosaur abdomen member 9
when the dinosaur abdomen member 9 is moved upwards, so as to
engage the rectangular slot gb of the top plate 9a with the
guide plate 5a for the simulated robotic head member 5, as shown
in Fig. 7.
It is apparent from the above description that the
positioning of the moving rnembers can be carried out securely
and exactly by means of the engagement holes and the engagement
projections when reconfiguring from one form into the other
form, and the positions of the moving members are stabilized
before and after the reconfiguring so as not to move readily by
a little force applied thereto.
The reconfiguration of the dinosaur rump members 15 and
the dinosaur tail members 15 into the simulated robotic shank
members and their accessories will be described in detail with
reference to Figs. 8 and 9. The dinosaur rump member 15 is
formed in an approximate upset U-shaped horizontal cross
section. The simulated robotic thigh member 14 is enclosed in
the corresponding dinosaur rump member 15 which substantially
consists of an outer wall 15a, an inner wall 15b and a back wall
15c, and therefore in the dinosaur form the simulated robotic
thigh member 14 cannot be seen from the outside except from the
opening of the dinosaur rump member 15, which normally is on the
bottom, as shown in Fig. 4.
When the dinosaur tail member 17 is first pivoted
around the pivot shaft 18 to the outer side of the dinosaur rump
member 15, and then the dinosaur rump member 15 is pivoted
backwards through 180 degrees around the pivot shaft 16 together
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with the pivoted dinosaur tail member 17, then the simulated
robotic thigh member 14 is now seen and the upset dinosaur rurnp
member 15 is connected under the simulated robotic thigh member
14 and constitutes the simulated robotic shank member, with a
fantastic and unexpected image change.
A pair of enyagement projections 41 (Fig. 8) are
formed, projecting downwards, on the central portion of the
bottom of the body 1. An engagement groove 42 is formed on the
upper inside end portion of the inner wall 15b of each dinosaur
rump member 15r so that the engagement projection 41 may engage
with the respective engagement groove 42 when the dinosaur rump
member 15 is settled in the right position for the dinosaur
form. That is, in the dinosaurian form the positions of the
dinosaur rump members 15 are stabilized so as not to pivot or
move by these engagement projections 41 and the engagement
grooves 42, even if a little force is applied thereto.
Referring to Fig. 8, each simulated right or left
robotic thigh member 14 comprises an upper thigh member 14a, a
lower thigh member 14b and a pivot member 14c on which the upper
thigh member 14a and the lower thigh member 14b are pivotally
connected. The upper thigh member 14a is pivotally mounted to
the simulated robotic waist member 13 by a respective pivot
shaft ~3. The simulated robotic leg members constituting of the
simulated robotic thigh members 14 and the simulated robotic
shank members 15 are spaced further apart very simpl~ in the
right and the left side hand directions by pivoting the upper
thigh members l~a outwards around the pivot shafts ~3, and
pivoting the lower thigh members 14b inwards around the pivot
members 14c with respect to the upper thigh rnernbers 14a, to the
spaced apart position seen most clearly in ~igs. 11 and 12.
As explained above in detail with respect to a
preferred embodiment of the present invention, a reconfigurable
toy is reconfigured from one form into another form by slidably
and/or pivotally moving comrnon members and thereby revealing or
concealing specific members for the on or the other form,
resulting in a remarkable, unexpected and fantastic
configuration change.
Although the present invention has been described with
reference to a preferred embodiment thereof illustrated in the
accompanying drawings, however, various changes and
modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without
departing from the scope of the present invention.
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