STADIUM TOY

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO THE RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 to Japanese Patent Application No. 2024-102490 filed on Jun. 26, 2024. The entire content of Japanese Patent Application No. 2024-102490 is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a stadium toy.

Background Art

A top toy game stand provided with a plurality of turntables installed on a game surface for spinning a top toy, and a drive device for rotating the turntable by the power of a motor is known from the past (e.g. see Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2023-171679

SUMMARY

Problems the Invention is Intended to Solve

In the invention noted in the abovementioned Patent Document 1, the top toy runs around in various directions by rotation of the turntables.

However, if we focus on one top toy, the top toy is placed on the turntable from outside, and though the jumping out direction is different, it jumps out from the turntable in a similar trajectory, and this is simply repeated, so the movement was monotonous.

The present invention was created considering these circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a stadium toy that can make the top toy run around in various ways.

Means for Solving the Problems

A stadium toy includes a field, a step part, a movable part, and an output and retraction mechanism.

The field includes a floor on which a top toy runs around. The movable part is configured to move in order to output and retract the step part configured to limit a range in which the top toy runs around. The output and retraction mechanism is configured to move the movable part to output and retract the step part.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a stadium toy according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view seen from below the stadium toy.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the stadium toy showing the state when a cover is removed and a movable floor is in a lowered state.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a top toy.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the stadium toy.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the stadium toy base board and operating unit.

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the operating unit.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of a case.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a drive unit.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the drive unit seen from a different angle.

FIG. 11 is a drawing showing a motor drive circuit of the stadium toy.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the operating unit showing the state when the movable floor is flush with the surrounding floor.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the operating unit showing a state with the movable floor lowered with respect to the surrounding floor.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a stadium toy 10. FIG. 2 is a perspective view seen from below the stadium toy 10. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the stadium toy 10 showing the state with a cover 16 removed and a movable floor 13a lowered.

The stadium toy 10 performs battles of two or more top toys 50 that are rotationally energized.

With this stadium toy 10, the top toy 50 released into a field 11 runs around inside the field 11, and perform a battle between top toys 50 by contacting other top toys 50. During this battle, when the top toy 50 contacts an acceleration rail 12 that defines the field 11, the movement of the top toy 50 is accelerated.

A portion of a floor 13 of the field 11 serves as the movable floor 13a (FIG. 3). The movable floor 13a continues to move up and down when a switch SW1 (FIG. 2) is turned on. When the movable floor 13a is lowered, a recess is formed in the floor surface, and a step part 19 appears between the movable floor 13a and a surrounding floor 13b. In other words, there is a gap in a height direction, which is considered as the step part 19, between the movable floor 13a and the surrounding floor 13b. An acceleration rail 14 formed in the step part 19 is exposed.

When the top toy 50 that is running around falls into the recess, the top toy 50 runs around inside the recess. Then, when the top toy 50 touches the acceleration rail 14, it is accelerated and it runs around vigorously along the acceleration rail 14. During this time as well, the movable floor 13a continues to move up and down. Eventually, when the movable floor 13a becomes flush with the surrounding floor 13b, the energized top toy 50 goes out to the surrounding floor 13b in the periphery by the centrifugal force of moving around. The top toy 50 then contacts the acceleration rail 12 and is accelerated.

Top Toy 50

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the top toy 50.

The top toy 50 includes a trunk part 51 and a shaft part 52. The trunk part 51 and the shaft part 52 are not particularly restricted, but rotate integrally. A wheel 53 is provided on the shaft part 52. The wheel 53 is a gear in the embodiment. This wheel 53 engages with a functional section of acceleration rails 12, 14 by the top toy 50 running around. As a result, the wheel 53 abuts the acceleration rails 12, 14 and rolls, and the top toy 50 is accelerated.

The rotational energization of this top toy 50 is performed by a fork on a launching device (not illustrated) being inserted in arc-shaped recesses 54, 54 formed on the top surface of the trunk part 51, and by the top toy 50 being rotated in relation to the fork in the direction opposite to the rotational energization direction of the top toy 50, the top toy 50 being locked by the fork, and in this state, the fork being rotated in the rotational energization direction by a launcher toy. Thereafter, when rotation of the fork stops, the top toy 50 is released by the launcher toy.

Stadium Toy 10

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the stadium toy 10.

The stadium toy 10 includes a base board 15 that constitutes the field 11, and the cover 16 that is covered on the base board 15.

The base board 15 is constituted from transparent plastic. The base board 15 is supported by four legs 17 so that the floor 13 of the field 11 reaches a prescribed height.

The cover 16 is constituted from transparent plastic, and the center part of the ceiling is open in a circle. The rotationally energized top toy 50 can be input from this opening.

Attachment of the cover 16 to the base board 15 is accomplished by having a portion of four locking devices 18 pass through holes (not illustrated) of the cover 16 and the base board 15, and being fitted on the four legs 17.

The floor 13 of the field 11 of the base board 15 is overall a bowl-shaped recess. The center of the floor 13 is the movable floor 13a, and a fixed surrounding floor 13b is disposed outside that. The acceleration rail 12 is disposed on the stadium toy 10 to define the field 11. The acceleration rail 12 is constituted by rack members arranged in a heart shape in the top view.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the base board 15 and an operating unit 20 of the stadium toy 10, and FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the operating unit 20.

The stadium toy 10 includes the operating unit 20 that raises and lowers the movable floor 13a. The operating unit 20 includes a bolt-cylinder shaped case 21. On the top edge part of this case 21, an annular seat 22 is provided. Placed on the seat 22 are the acceleration rail 14 that is annular in the top view, and a connecting floor 13c that is annular in the top view and that constitutes a portion of the surrounding floor 13b. The floor 13c is fitted from below on this acceleration rail 14, a boss 130c with a female thread of the floor 13c is inserted in a hole 22a of the seat 22, and the case 21 is secured by screwing a male screw (not illustrated) from the bottom side of the case 21 to a female thread of the boss 130c.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the case 21.

The movable floor 13a that is circular in the top view is attached to the case 21 so as to close the top end opening of the case 21. This movable floor 13a is supported to be able to move up and down in the case 21, and is energized downward by a coil spring 130a. The movable floor 13a is disposed on the inside of the acceleration rail 14 that is annular in the top view.

The drive device 23 that moves the movable floor 13a up and down is disposed below the movable floor 13a.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the drive device 23, and FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the drive device 23 viewed from a different angle.

The drive device 23 includes a motor 24 which is the power source, a plate cam 25 which has the movable floor 13a as a follower, and a power transmission mechanism 26 that transmits the motor power to the plate cam 25. The plate cam 25 constitutes an output and retraction mechanism that outputs and retracts the step part.

A notch 25a is formed on the end face of the plate cam 25. The operation section of a switch SW2 described later is made to be detachable with the end face of the plate cam 25 according to the rotation position. Specifically, according to rotation of the plate cam 25, the operation section of the switch SW2 separates from the end face of the plate cam 25 at the position of the notch 25a, and abuts the end face of the plate cam 25 at a location other than the notch 25a.

The power transmission mechanism 26 transmits the motor power via gears 26a to 26h to the plate cam 25. A clutch (torque limiter) 26i is provided between the gear 26e and the gear 26f, and transmission of power therebetween is blocked when an overload occurs.

The plate cam 25 is an eccentric rotor. A positive motion cam is constituted by this plate cam 25 and the movable floor 13a energized by the coil spring 130a. Here, the plate cam 25 abuts the center bottom surface of the movable floor 13a. As a result, when the plate cam 25 rotates, the movable floor 13a moves up and down.

A battery box 27 is provided inside the case 21. A battery can be attached and detached with this battery box 27 by opening a lid 28 (FIG. 2) on the lower side of the case 21.

Circuit Configuration

FIG. 11 shows a motor drive circuit 40 of the stadium toy 10.

Switch SW1 and switch SW2 are arranged in parallel with respect to the motor 24 in the motor drive circuit 40.

The switch SW1 is an alternate switch for the power supply, and when the switch SW1 is turned on, the motor 24 operates and rotates the plate cam 25.

The switch SW2 is a momentary switch. The switch SW2 is arranged near the plate cam 25. The switch SW2 can be separated from or in contact with the end face of the plate cam 25.

With this motor drive circuit 40, when the switch SW1 is turned on, regardless of the state of the switch SW2, the motor 24 is operated and rotates the plate cam 25. In this state, when the switch SW1 is turned off, while the operation section of the switch SW2 abuts the end face of the plate cam 25, the motor 24 continues rotating because the switch SW2 is turned on. Then, according to the rotation of the plate cam 25, when the notch 25a of the end face of the plate cam 25 reaches the operation section of the switch SW2, the switch SW2 is turned off, the rotation of the motor 24 stops, and that position is a position at which the movable floor 13a and the surrounding floor 13b are flush with each other.

How to Play, Operation, Etc.

Next, how to play using the stadium toy 10, operation of the stadium toy 10, etc., are explained. FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the operating unit 20 showing the state when the movable floor 13a and the surrounding floor 13b are flush with each other. FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the operating unit 20 showing the state when the movable floor 13a is lowered with respect to the surrounding floor 13b.

In a state with the switch SW1 turned off, the movable floor 13a is flush with the surrounding floor 13b. When two or more rotationally energized top toys 50 are released in the stadium toy 10 in this state, it is possible to have a battle with top toys 50 bumping into each other. At this time, when the top toy 50 abuts the acceleration rail 12, it is accelerated by the acceleration rail 12, and the battle is waged.

When the switch SW1 is turned on, the motor 24 operates, the plate cam 25 rotates, and the movable floor 13a repeatedly moves up and down until the switch SW1 is turned off. When the movable floor 13a is lowered, a recess is formed in the floor 13. Because the surrounding floor 13b is tilted, it is easy for the top toy 50 that is running around to fall into the recess.

When the top toy 50 falls into the recess, the top toy 50 is constrained inside the recess, and the wheel 53 of the top toy 50 that is running around in the recess immediately engages with the functional section of the acceleration rail 14. As a result, the top toy 50 is accelerated, and moves around along the acceleration rail 14.

Then, when the movable floor 13a is raised and the movable floor 13a becomes flush with the surrounding floor 13b, the top toy 50 energetically goes out from the movable floor 13a due to centrifugal force and contacts the outside acceleration rail 12, is accelerated here as well, and the battle is waged.

The operation described above is repeated until the top toy 50 stops or the momentum of the top toy 50 runs out.

When the switch SW1 is turned off in this state, the plate cam 25 rotates until the switch SW2 is turned off, the movable floor 13a is raised and and the movable floor 13a stops at the location at which the movable floor 13a is flush with the surrounding floor 13b.

Effect of the Embodiment

The following effects can be obtained with the stadium toy 10 of the present embodiment.

By moving the movable floor (adjacent part) 13a up and down with respect to at least a portion of the functional section (teeth) of the acceleration rail 14, there is a change in the existence of acceleration of the top toy 50 in that region, so it is possible to realize a highly entertaining stadium toy 10.

Because the movable floor 13a is moved up and down, it is possible to change the running around region of the top toy 50 according to the up and down movement of the movable floor 13a, and possible to realize a highly entertaining stadium toy 10.

Additionally, when the movable floor 13a is lowered, a recess is formed in the floor 13 of the field 11, and it is possible to accelerate the top toy 50 that fell into the recess using the acceleration rail 14.

It is possible to easily continue the up and down movement using the motor power by turning the switch SW1 on, so it is possible to change the top toy acceleration region and running around region over time.

Furthermore, since there is a return to the initial state of the floor surface when the switch SW1 is turned off, it is possible to easily perform playing using the initial floor surface state at any time.

It is possible to increase the acceleration region, so it is possible to make the top toy 50 run around with intensity.

The acceleration rail 14 is provided along the entire circumference of the step part 19 that is circular in the top view, so the accelerated top toy 50 moves around along the acceleration rail 14, and at the location at which the movable floor 13a and the surrounding floor 13b are flush with each other, it goes out from the movable floor 13a, so at this point as well, it is possible to give randomness to the movement of the top toy 50.

Modification Examples

Above, an embodiment of the present disclosure was explained, but the present disclosure is not limited to this embodiment, and various modifications are possible.

For example, in the abovementioned embodiment, the acceleration rail 14 was provided on the step part, but it is also possible to not provide the acceleration rail 14. If the step part 19 appears, the movement range of the top toy 50 is limited, and if the step part 19 disappears, the top toy 50 moves around across the location where the step was.

In the abovementioned embodiment, the movable floor 13a was provided in the center of the field 11, but it is also possible to provide the movable floor 13a at the edge part of the field 11.

In the abovementioned embodiment, the functional section of the acceleration rail 14 was provided along the entire circumference of the step part 19 formed when the movable floor 13a is lowered, but it is also possible to have the functional section of the acceleration rail 14 provided at a portion of the step part.

In the abovementioned embodiment, the functional section (teeth) of the acceleration rail 14 and the adjacent movable floor 13a (adjacent part) were able to move up and down, but it is also possible to have the adjacent part operate along the floor surface and separate from or be in contact with the functional section (teeth) of the acceleration rail 14. In this case, when the functional section of the acceleration rail 14 and the adjacent part are separated, the form is such that a passage for the top toy 50 is formed between the functional section of the acceleration rail 14 and the adjacent part. The method of moving the movable floor 13a up and down does not have to be moving the entirety up and down, but may also be rotating up and down around a prescribed axis.

In the abovementioned embodiment, the movable floor 13a was moved up and down by the plate cam 25, but it is also possible to configure so that the movable floor 13a is moved up and down by expanding and contracting a bellows that can supply and exhaust air using an actuator, or to move the movable floor 13a up and down using a rack and pinion, a lever, or a link mechanism.

In the abovementioned embodiment, the movable floor 13a was moved up and down with respect to the acceleration rail 14, but it is also possible to have the movable floor 13a be a fixed floor and to move the acceleration rail 14 up and down.

In the abovementioned embodiment, the movable floor 13a was moved up and down using motor power, but it is also possible to move up and down by manual operation. In this case, it is necessary to provide an operation switch at a position that can be operated while playing.

In the abovementioned embodiment, the movable floor 13a up and down movement was performed continuously, but this can also be configured to stop step by step at prescribed positions.

Furthermore, in the abovementioned embodiment, up and down movement of the movable floor 13a was performed continuously, but it is also possible to configure to move up and down intermittently, or configure to change the speed of the up and down movement as the up and down movement continues.

The switch SW1 was made to be an alternate switch, but it is also possible to configure as a momentary switch to move up and down only during operation of the switch. In this case, it is necessary to provide the operation switch at a position that can be operated while playing.

The wheel 53 of the top toy 50 was a gear, but it is also possible to be a roller that rolls on the acceleration rail. In this case, it is possible to not have teeth formed on the acceleration rails 12, 14. In short, it is sufficient to have the roller roll while abutting the functional section of the acceleration rail.

In the abovementioned embodiment, the movable floor 13a was circular in the top view, but can be any shape.

The movable part that restricts the movement of the top toy 50, in addition to being an item that moves up and down, may also be an item that does output and retraction by sliding/rotation from the side surface without constituting a floor surface, or drops down from above by axial rotation.

The sliding contact surface of the movable part with the top toy can be a straight line, but it is preferable that it be formed with a curve in the top view so as to apply centrifugal force to the top toy and raise the rotational force.

Modification examples of the present example were described, but it goes without saying that it is possible to combine the abovementioned modification examples as appropriate provided there are no contradictions.

According to the present disclosure, the step part 19 is output and retracted, so it is possible to run the top toy in the extension direction of the step part, and when the step is eliminated, to run the top toy so as to cross that location.