GB2216025A - Driving mechanism for a toy - Google Patents

Abstract

The toy comprises first toy driving members (11), which may be in the forms of arms of a toy octopus or wheels of a toy vehicle, on one side of the toy, second toy driving members (12) on an opposite side of the toy, and a motor connected to the driving members through a gear reduction and reversing unit (figure 2 - not shown) which operates both driving members (11 and 12) to move the toy forwards for a period of time or until the toy strikes an object. The unit then reverses and operates only members (11) in a reverse direction to cause the toy to make a rearwards turn, the second toy driving members (12) being connected to the unit via a one way clutch (23). After a further period of time the unit reverses to move the toy forwards again. <IMAGE>

Description

A Toy This invention relates to a toy.

According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a toy comprising at least one first toy driving member on one side of the toy and at least one second toy driving member on an opposite side of the toy, a motor for operating said toy driving members, means for drivingly connecting the motor to said first and second toy driving members for moving same in a first direction to in use cause the toy to move along a surface in one direction and for drivingly connecting the motor to said first toy driving member only for moving same in a second direction opposite said first direction in response to the toy striking an object as it moves in said one direction or after a period of time if the toy does not strike an object to in use cause the toy to make a turn and thereafter for drivingly connecting the motor to the first and second toy driving members for again moving same in said first direction.

Preferred and/or optional features of the first aspect of the invention are set forth in claims 2 to 13, inclusive.

According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a toy cephalopod, e.g. a toy octopus, comprising a body, a plurality of first arms extending to one side of the body, a plurality of second arms extending to an opposite side of the body, two generally forwardly extending arms, and a motor, at least one of the first arms and at least one second arm being drivable by the motor to move the toy generally forwards along a surface and said at least one first arm being drivable in a reverse direction in response to one of the forwardly extending arms striking an object.

The invention will now be more particularly described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a fragmentary view showing part of the mechanism of one embodiment of a toy according to the invention, and Figure 2 is a schematic view showing another part of the mechanism of the toy shown in Figure 1.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown therein a toy cephalopod in the form of a toy octopus having a body 10, three first arms or tentacles 11 extending to one side of the body 10, three second arms or tentacles 12 extending to the other side of the body 10, and two generally forwardly extending arms 13.

The arms 11 and 12 each comprise a shaped rigid former 14 secured at one end to a respective stub axle 15 and a flexible, resilient cover 16 enclosing the former 14, the covers 16 being provided with imitation suction pads 17.

The stub axles 15 are driven from a drive shaft 18 via pinion gears 19 or 20, spur gears 21 fixed to stub axles 15 for rotation therewith, and idler gears 22. The pinion 19 is fixed to the drive shaft 18 and is in direct engagement with the spur gear 21 fixed to the stub axle 15 associated with the middle one of the three first arms 11, the spur gears 21 fixed to the stub axles 15 associated with the other arms 11 being driven through idler gears 22. The pinion 20 is driven by the drive shaft 18 via unidirectional coupling means in the form of a one way clutch 23 and this in turn drives the spur gears 21 associated with the second arms 12 in one direction only.

The forwardly extending arms 13 contain no formers 14 and the covers 16 are secured to respective levers 9 which allow the arms 13 to move rearwards against the urging force of a spring (not shown) for a purpose which will become apparent hereinafter.

The drive shaft 18 is driven by a battery powered p.m.d.c. electric motor 24 via a gear reduction and reversing unit generally indicated at 25. The unit 25 is shown schematically in Figure 2 and comprises a frame 8 which supports the motor 24 and a planet carrier 26 mounted for rotation about a shaft 27.

The planet carrier 26 rotatably supports a planet gear 28 which is in mesh with a sun gear 29 mounted for rotation on shaft 27. The sun gear 29 is fixed to a spur gear 30 also mounted for rotation on shaft 27 and spur gear 30 is in mesh with a pinion gear 31 fixed to the output shaft of the motor 24. The planet carrier 26 has a detent arm 32 extending radially outwardly therefrom and this detent arm 32 is co-operable with latch levers 33 and 34 which are pivoted about respective axes 33' and 34' and which are urged into contact with the peripheral surface of the planet carrier 26 by a tension spring 50 connected between the two latch levers. The sun gear 29 rotates anti-clockwise and turns the planet gear 28 clockwise. The reaction force applied to the planet carrier 26 is such as to urge the planet carrier 26 anti-clockwise.As shown in Figure 2 the planet carrier 26 is prevented from turning anti-clockwise by interengagement between the latch lever 33 and the detent arm 32. In this position the planet gear 28 is in mesh with spur gear 35 which is in turn in mesh with a spur gear 36 and pinion gear 37 combination and the pinion gear 37 is in mesh with a spur and pinion gear combination 38 which drives a spur gear 39 fixed to the drive shaft 18 in a clockwise direction. When the latch lever 33 is released from engagement with the detent arm 32 the planet carrier 26 will turn anti-clockwise until the detent arm 32 comes into engagement with the latch lever 34. In this position the planet gear 28 will mesh with the spur gear 36 rather than the spur gear 35 with the result that the drive shaft 18 will be driven anti-clockwise.When the latch lever 34 is released from engagement with the detent arm 32 the planet carrier 28 will return to the position shown in Figure 2 and the drive shaft 18 will be again driven in a clockwise direction.

When the drive shaft 18 is driven in a clockwise direction as viewed in Figure 2 the one way clutch 23 will engage so that all first and second arms 11 and 12 are driven in rotation to move the toy forwards along a generally rectilinear path. However, when the drive shaft 18 is driven in an anti-clockwise direction the one way clutch 23 will slip with the result that the first arms 11 only are driven in reverse to cause the toy to make a rearwards turn.

The latch lever 33 is pivoted anti-clockwise as viewed in Figure 2 to release the planet carrier 28 when one or both of the arms 13 move rearwards upon striking an object or when a release arm 40, which is mounted for slidable movement in the body 10, moves rearwards against the urging force of a torsion spring 41. The release arm 40 is moved rearwards by an operating member 42 driven in rotation by the pinion gear 20 via a reduction gear train 43.

The latch lever 34 is pivoted clockwise as viewed in Figure 2 to release the planet carrier 28 by an operating member 44 driven in rotation in an anti-clockwise direction by second uni-directional coupling means in the form of a one way clutch 45.

The clutch 45 is mounted on the shaft 18 and is driven from the gear 39 via a reduction gear train 46.

Thus in operation when the motor 24 is energised and the planet carrier 26 is in the position shown in Figure 2 the drive shaft 18 will be driven in a clockwise direction as viewed in Figure 2 and the six arms 11 and 12 will rotate to move the toy forwards.

If one or both arms 13 strike an object the respective lever or levers 24 will move rearwards and will engage the latch lever 33 to pivot the latter anti-clockwise. The planet carrier 26 will thus move anti-clockwise until the detent arm 32 engages the latch lever 34 when the planet gear 28 will mesh with spur gear 36 and the drive shaft 18 will be driven in an anti-clockwise direction.

When the planet carrier 26 is in the position shown in Figure 2 and all six arms 11 and 12 are being rotated the reduction gear train 43 will slowly rotate the operating member 42 and after a period of time, if the arms 13 do not come into contact with an object, the operating member 42 will act on the -release arm 40 and move this rearwards in the direction indicated by arrow A in - Figure 2. The lever 40 will thus pivot the latch lever 33 anti-clockwise and the driveshaft 18 will be driven as viewed in Figure 2 in an anti-clockwise direction.

When either of these circumstances occurs, the drive shaft 18 will drive the arms 11 in a reverse direction and the arms 12 will remain still due to the slipping action of the one way clutch 23. The toy will therefore make a rearwards turn.

When the drive shaft 18 is rotating anti-clockwise the one way clutch 45 will slowly rotate the operating member 44 anti-clockwise as viewed in Figure 2 and after a period of time the operating member 44 will act on the latch lever 34 to pivot the latter clockwise. The planet carrier 26 will then move anti-clockwise until the detent arm 32 engages the latch lever 33 when the planet gear 28 will mesh with spur gear 35 and the drive shaft 18 will be driven in a clockwise direction to move the toy forwards again. Also during rotation the operating member 44 will make contact with a protrusion 47 on the release arm 40 to ensure that this is moved back into the path of the operating member 42.

The motor 24 is operated by a battery (not shown) housed in the body 10 and an on/off switch (not shown) is connected in the motor/battery circuit and supported by the body 10 in a convenient position.

The above embodiment is given by way of example only and various modifications will be apparent to persons skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention defined by the appended claims. For example not all first and second arms 11 and 12, respectively, need be driven; indeed only one arm 11 and one arm 12 need be driven. Moreover, the toy could be in the form of a toy vehicle in which the arms 11 and 12 are replaced by wheels and the arms 13 are replaced by a movable bumper.

Claims (15)

Claims

1. A toy comprising at least one first toy driving member on one side of the toy and at least one second toy driving member on an opposite side of the toy, a motor for operating said toy driving members, means for drivingly connecting the motor to said first and second toy driving members for moving same in a first direction to in use cause the toy to move along a surface in one direction and for drivingly connecting the motor to said first toy driving member or members only for moving same in a second direction opposite said first direction in response to the toy striking an object as it moves in said one direction or after a period of time if the toy does not strike an object to in use cause the toy to make a turn and thereafter for drivingly connecting the motor to the first and second toy driving members for again moving same in said first direction.

2. A toy as claimed in claim 1, wherein said means comprises a sun gear drivable by said motor, a planet gear drivable by said sun gear and mounted on a rotatable planet carrier for selectively meshing with first and second further gears, and first and second latch members for releasably holding the carrier in angular positions in which the planet gear meshes with the first and second further gears respectively, the arrangement being such that in use when the planet gear is in mesh with the first further gear the first and second toy driving members will be moved in said first direction and when the planet gear is in mesh with the second further gear the first toy driving member only will be moved and then in said second direction.

3. A toy as claimed in claim 2, wherein said first and second further gears reverse their respective directions of rotation when in use the planet gear moves out of mesh with one of said further gears and into mesh with the other of said further gears.

4. A toy as claimed in claim 2 or claim 3, wherein the motor is connected to the second toy driving member through the intermediary of uni-directional coupling means.

5. A toy as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the first latch member is released in response to the toy striking an object and by a first operating member which is arranged to move with but at a slower speed than the second toy driving member.

6. A toy as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the second latch member is released by a second operating member which is arranged to move with but at a slower speed than the first toy driving member.

7. A toy as claimed in claim 6, wherein the second operating member is driven in rotation through the intermediary of a uni-directional coupling only when the first toy driving member moves in said second direction.

8. A toy as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said motor is an electric motor.

9. A toy as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, comprising a plurality of first toy moving members and a plurality of second toy moving members.

10. A toy as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in the form of a toy cephalopod, the toy moving members being in the form of arms or tentacles the outer ends of which are arranged in use to move in an arcuate path.

11. A toy as claimed in claim 10, wherein the toy moving members each comprise a rigid former mounted for rotation at its inner end and a flexible cover -enclosing the rigid former.

12. A toy as claimed in claim 10 or claim 11, wherein the toy moving members have imitation suction pads for engagement with a surface.

13. A toy as claimed in any one of claims 10 to 12, having two arms or tentacles which are movable on striking an object when in use the toy is moving along a surface in said one direction to cause the toy to make a turn.

14. A toy cephalopod comprising a body, a plurality of first arms extending to one side of the body, a plurality of second arms extending to an opposite side of the body, two generally forwardly extending arms, and a motor, at least one first arm and at least one second arm being drivable by the motor to move the toy generally forwards along a surface, said at least one first arm being drivable in a reverse direction in response to one of the ' forwardly extending arms striking an object.

15. A toy substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.