Mobile reconfigurable spherical toy

• US 4,057,929 A
• Filed: 06/09/1976
• Issued: 11/15/1977
• Est. Priority Date: 06/09/1976
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Takara Co., Ltd. (TOMY Company Limited)
• Original Assignee: Takara Co., Ltd. (TOMY Company Limited)
• Inventors: Ogawa, Iwakichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Mancene, Louis G.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Cutting, Robert F.
• Application Number:
  US05/694,250
• Time in Patent Office: 524 Days
• Field of Search: 46/201, 46/248, 46/249, 46/269
• US Class Current: 446/90
• CPC Class Codes: A47K 3/362 comprising sliding and articulated panels
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 33/005 Motorised rolling toys
• CPC Class Codes: E05D 15/0621 Details, e.g. suspension or supporting guides E05D15/0604, E05D15/08 - E05D15/14 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: E05Y 2900/114 for showers

Abstract

A substantially spherical or ball-shaped toy is provided and includes a number of press- and snap-fitted spherical sections which may be removed from a base member and attached at various positions on the base member to form various other toy configurations. The base additionally encloses an electric motor and driving assembly to provide motion in the various configurations.

Claims

1. A toy assembly comprising;

a base member having a first and second side wall;

a drive train extending between said first and second sides and having output shaft ends extending respectively from each side wall;

a rotatable auxiliary shaft mounted within said base member for providing first and second rotatable coupling ends extending respectively from each side wall, and

a plurality of section members, each having means for attachment to said base member, and contoured such that when said section members are connected to said base member, a substantially spherical toy object results.

2. The toy of claim 1 wherein said base member has at least one spherically contoured surface co-acting with said plurality of section members to form a substantially spherical object.

3. The toy of claim 1 wherein said base member contains a plurality of substantially identical base member apertures and wherein at least one of said means for attachment to said base member comprises a plug adapted to interchangeably fit into said base member apertures.

4. The toy of claim 3 further including at least one extension member means for connecting between one of said base member apertures and a said plug.

5. The toy of claim 4 wherein at least one of said sections has at least one section aperture substantially identical to said base member apertures.

6. The toy of claim 5 wherein said base member further includes driving means and means for interchangeably connecting said driving means to one of said sections.

7. The toy of claim 5 wherein said base member further includes driving means including a drive shaft having a drive shaft plug thereon and wherein at least one of said means for attachment to said base memmber comprises an aperture for accomodating said drive shaft plug.

8. The toy of claim 1 wherein a pair of section members have dish-shaped configurations and are respectively removably mounted to said output shaft ends.

9. The toy assembly of claim 1 further including a pulley assembly for mounting on a coupling end of said auxiliary shaft and an output shaft end of said drive train.

10. The toy assembly of claim 9 wherein at least one of said section members is operatively connected to one of said output shaft ends and said coupling ends, and means for driving said drive train.

11. The toy assembly of claim 1 wherein the rotatable coupling ends are press-fit connection points.

12. The toy assembly of claim 8 wherein the dish-shaped section members having mounting means on both their concave and convex sides.

13. A toy assembly capable of forming an approximately spherical toy object comprising;

a central base member having at least one exterior surface when positioned as part of a spherical toy object configuration;

drive means mounted in the base member;

a pair of side concave-convex members rotatably attached to either side of the base member for rotational driving relative to the base member by the drive means, the annular peripheral edges of the side members having a circular configuration which respectively support and drive the central base member and having further central mounting means on both the concave and convex sides and,

an appended member connected to the exterior surface of the central base member and extending outward to provide a third support for the central base member, the central base member and side members are contoured such that when the side members are mounted on their concave side to the central base member they form an approximately spherical toy object.

14. The toy assembly of claim 13 wherein the central base member further includes a transparent canopy member.

15. The toy assembly of claim 13 wherein the drive means includes a pair of output shafts on either side of the base member and means for interconnecting each side set of output shafts.

16. The toy assembly of claim 15 wherein one output shaft is an idler shaft.

17. The toy assembly of claim 15 wherein a pulley assembly is mounted on at least one side set of output shafts.

18. A toy assembly capable of forming a substantially spherical toy comprising;

a base component member;

drive means positioned in the base component member;

a bottom component member having at least one sphery surface removably attached to the base component member;

a pair of sphery side component members removably attached to a respective side of the base component member and mounted adjacent opposite sides of the bottom component member, the side component members are adapted for power rotation by the drive means relative to the base member, each side component member being dimensioned such that its periphery edge has a circular configuration and a respective edge portion of each side component member extends below and supports the base component member when the bottom component member is removed from the base component member, the component members, when removably attached together, are capable of providing a substantially spherical contoured toy assembly with the radius of curvature of the bottom component sphery surface and sphery side component members being approximately equal.

19. The toy assembly of claim 18 further including mounting means on both sides of the sphery side components so that either side can be operatively connected to the base component member.