GB2475848A - Toy vehicle construction kit - Google Patents

Abstract

A toy vehicle construction kit comprises at least one rod element 11 having a gripping C-shaped clip 13 at each end thereof, at least one connecting torus shaped element 30 and a chassis body 60. The chassis is formed with rod portions 41 connected to each other through connecting torus elements 30 to from a general frame or panel shape constituting the chassis body. The C-shaped clips 13 of the rod elements 11 and the torus elements 30 can be detachably connected to the cassis body 60 in different ways to construct a variety of different vehicles. The chassis body may be formed with axles 42 to receive and retain rotatable wheels 45.

Description

VEHICLE CONSTRUCTION TOY

This present invention relates generally to toy vehicles and more particularly to toy vehicles formed from different elements to be assembled between each other.

Toy vehicles have been very popular with children of different ages over the years, however these vehicles are generally formed with a large number of different parts which makes the assembly of the vehicles complicated.

Another disadvantage of these vehicles is that they require a certain level of dexterity and finger strength, and sometimes adult supervision is needed to accomplish the building of a type of a vehicle, because of their complicated connecting means.

Therefore it is an object of the present invention to provide with this novel construction toy vehicles formed of a very limited number of different elements which is very simple to use.

It is another object of the present invention to provide with a toy vehicle set formed with very simple and very easy connecting means where very little effort is needed to build a variety of different vehicle structures.

It is another object to provide with this toy vehicle set to be manufactured at a very low cost.

It is another object of the present invention to provide with a toy vehicle without the use of separate fastening elements such as nuts and bolts. It is also desirable that the construction vehicle kit is versatile, allowing the shapes of vehicles to be varied and modified without disassembling the whole constructed vehicle.

The toy vehicle set of the present invention comprises a plurality of rod elements having a C-shaped clip at each end, a plurality of torus connecting elements and a chassis to support the upper structure of the vehicle. The chassis is formed with connecting rod portions which are attached to each other by their ends through torus connecting elements to form the chassis having generally a shape of a frame or a panel.

The sides of some of the chassis bodies are provided with axles so that rotatable wheels can be mounted upon the chassis. The rods, torus elements and chassis body are assembled to each other in a variety of different combinations to build different toy vehicles.

Other objects and advantageous features of the present invention will be more apparent on the description carried out in accordance to the drawings included, in which: FIGS.1 and2 illustrates a front view of rod elements.

FIG.3 shows a top view of a torus connecting element.

FIG.4 shows a top view of a torus portion that may be used in the present invention.

FIGS.5 and6 illustrates a top view of two different chassis and wheels according to the present invention.

Referring to the drawings; FIG.1 shows a rod element 10 formed with cylindrical or polygonal shaped body 11. Each end of the rod element 10 is formed with a C-shaped gripping clip 13 to be assembled to the torus element 30 of FIG.3 or to the torus elements 30 of the chassis 60 and of respectively FIGS.5 and 6.

The C-shaped gripping clips 13 of the rod element 10 are formed of two symmetrically opposed gripping jaws 14 which extend parallely to the longitudinal axis of the rod element 10 as shown in FIG.1.

FIG.2 illustrates the embodiment of another rod element 20, similar to the one of FIG.1. Here the jaws 14 of the rod element 20 extend perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis of the rod element to allow the rod elements to be laterally connected to the torus elements 30.

The body of the rod portions 4lof the chassis 60 and 70 of respectively FIGS.5 and 6 can also be configured to receive and retain the C-shaped gripping clips 13 of the rod elements of FIGS.land 2.

FIG.4 illustrates a torus portion 35 having a stud 36 at each end. The torus portion 35 is used to assemble with the holes 37 of the chassis 60 of FIG.5 so that the rod elements 10 and 20 can be connected in a wide range of angular positions between each other.

The cross section of the body 11 of the rod element may be made equal to the thickness of the torus connecting element 30 so that rod elements can be connected to each other, making the toy more creative.

The chassis 60 and 70 of respectively FIGS.5 and 6 are formed with preferably cylindrical rod portions 41 which are attached to each other through connecting torus elements 30. The external sides of the chassis may be provided with axles 42 so that rotatable wheels 45 can be mounted upon the chassis as shown from FIG.5.

Retaining means 43 which enables the wheels to be releasably retained on the axles 42 may also be formed at the end of each axle 42 as shown from FIGS.5 and 6.

The cross section of the rod portions 41 of the chassis 60 and 70 is slightly larger than the internal diameter of a C-shaped clip of the rod elements so that rod elements are firmly and securely retained by the chassis 60.

The rod portions 41 and the torus elements 30 of the chassis of this present invention may be formed with holes 37 such as the ones in chassis 60 of FIG.5 to receive and retain the torus portions 35 of FIG.4 50 that the rod elements of FIGS.1 and 2 can be connected to the chassis in a variety of different ways, and yet rotate and swivel so that they can be positioned in different angular position between each other.

The rod and torus elements are detachably connected to each other and to the chassis to construct a wide range of composite vehicles.

The chassis of the present invention may be formed without the torus elements 30, where the ends of the rod portions 41 are directly connected to each other, not through the torus elements 30.

The structures of the chassis 60 and 70 may be made in different shapes having different configurations so that the constructed structures can resemble to all kind of vehicles.

Some of the rod portions 41 of the chassis of this present invention may be formed with curved shapes.

By providing the chassis to support the upper structures of the vehicles, the constructed vehicles remain rigid and stable during manipulation.

Motors and remote controls may also be used in the toy vehicles of the present invention.

The chassis of the present invention may be formed without the axles 42 to build vehicles that do not require wheels, they can also be made in three dimensional scope so that other toys such as planes, helicopters, boats and motorbikes can be constructed.

The present invention has been disclosed for illustrative but not limitative purposes, it will be obvious that modifications and changes may be introduced.

Claims (2)

1. Claims 1. A toy vehicle assembly kit comprising; one or more rod element formed with a gripping C-shaped clip at each end, one or more connecting torus element and one or more chassis; said chassis is formed with rod portions integrally connected to each other through connecting torus elements to form a chassis body having generally a shape of a frame or a panel; said chassis, rod elements and torus elements are detachably assembled to each other in a combination of different ways to build a variety of different composite vehicles.
2. 2. A toy vehicle assembly kit according to claim 1, wherein the side members of at least one said chassis is formed with axles to receive and retain rotatable wheels.