GB2122505A - Mounting toys or playthings - Google Patents

Abstract

A toy steering wheel 42 or other plaything is provided at one end of an elongate member 30 of the type which stays in the configuration to which it is formed and which has, at its other end fixing or locating means in the form of a clamp 11 to enable it to be secured to a frame member 22 of a push chair or baby-buggy 10. A suction cup or disc (Figs. 4 and 5) may be provided in the place of the clamp 11, to enable the device to be used, for example, in a car with the cup or disc 70 adhered to a window or other smooth surface in the car. In another alternative (Fig. 6) the fixing or locating means is a seat or saddle 92 upon which the user may sit. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Amusement device This invention concerns an amusement device.

A child sitting in a seat, or occupying a push chair, baby buggy or like conveyance (hereinafter referred to generally as "pushchair" for convenience), or being conveyed in an automobile, can often become bored and/or troublesome due to not having anything specifically to occupy his attention. A loose toy or pacifier may provide a diversion for such a child for a short period of time, but of course once the child has become tired of the same, he or she can throw the toy or the like about to the discomfort and annoyance of the person in whose care the child is.

An object of the present invention is to provide an amusement device which serves to provide a constantly-available diversion for a child sitting down, or occupying a push chair, in a motor car, or in a similar location.

With this object in view, the present invention provides an amusement device for use by a child sitting down, or in conjunction with a push chair (as hereinbefore referred to), in a motor vehicle, or in a like location, characterised in that it comprises an elongate member capable of being shaped to a desired configuration, but which will remain in such configuration, this member having at one end fixing or locating means whereby it can be held fixed in a suitable or convenient disposition, and having at its other end, a toy or plaything, the fixing or locating means and the elongate member enabling the toy or plaything to be held in a disposition conveniently accessible, for playing with, by a child.

The fixing or locating means may comprise, for example, a clamp for clamping to a suitable or convenient frame member or component of a push chair, or a suction cup or disc whereby it may be caused to adhere to a smooth surface, such as a motor vehicle's window, or a seat or saddle upon which a child may sit.

The elongate member is preferably a flexible tube (of the kind such as are commonly used, for example, in the construction of multi-positionable reading lamps) or a socalled flexible shaft (of the kind such as are commonly used, for example, for providing a flexible connection between an electric drive motor and a remote driven member) being composed of a spiral or helical coil the turns of which permit the shaping of the member to its desired configuration.

Preferably the elongate member has a flexible plastics sheathing.

The toy or plaything may comprise a simulated steering wheel which is preferably rotatably mounted. This mounting is conveniently achieved by a hub of the steering wheel (or an extension of said hub) fitting spigot-wise to a socket provided on the said other end of the elongate member, e.g. by being moulded thereon.

For ease of manufacture and to provide an aesthetically-pleasing product the spigot is preferably provided as an extension of the hub of the wheel and the socket is provided on a boss, e.g. as part of an annular ring, Hshaped in radial section, located into a circumferential groove in said boss.

Retention of the wheel may be achieved by an axial retainer, e.g. in the form of a bolt or the like projecting axially from the boss and engaged by a pin or the like secured diametrically through the extension of the hub of the wheel. At the boss end, the bolt is conveniently masked by its head being recessed or countersunk and a masking plug being located in a respective recess in the boss.

The steering wheel hub, may, if desired, accommodate a simulated horn button displaceably located therein; this horn button may have a squeaker associated with it so as to provide a noise when the horn button is pressed.

The device of the invention is not restricted to a toy or plaything in the form of a simulated steering wheel. It may comprise any other suitable form of toy or plaything, for instance a so-called activity board.

In order that the invention may be fully understood, it will be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating a first embodiment of the amusement device of the invention in position on a child's push chair; Figure 2 is an enlarged part-sectional view of the amusement device of Fig. 1; Figure 3 is a detached part-sectional plan illustrating the clamp of the device of Figs. 1 and 2; Figure 4 is a perspective view illustrating a second embodiment of the amusement device of the invention; Figure 5 is a perspective view illustrating a third embodiment of the amusement device of the invention; and Figure 6 is a perspective view illustrating a fourth embodiment of the amusement device of the invention.

It will be understood that the specific embodiments shown in the drawings are illustrative, and not restrictive, of the scope of the invention. Throughout the various figures of the drawings, like reference numerals have been allocated to similar parts.

Referring firstly to Figs. 1 to 3, the preferred embodiment of the amusement device of the invention illustrated therein is particularly suitable for use in conjunction with a child's push chair or so-called "baby buggy" (indicated generally at 10 in Fig. 1) comprises fixing or locating means in the form of a clamp 11 (see particularly Fig. 3) in the form of a pair of jaws 12, 14 made, for example by moulding, from a tough plastics material and pivotally connected together by a tongue 1 6 at one end of the jaw 1 2 engaging into a slot 18 in the corresponding end of the jaw 14.A bolt 20, having a hand knob 22, through the jaw 1 2 about half way along its length and engages threadedly with a nut 24 set in the jaw 14. Each of the jaws 12, has a respective recess 26 near to its other end.

These recesses 26 face one another and define a generally circular hole through the clamp 11 whereby the latter can be clamped onto a tubular frame member, such as the member 28, of the baby buggy 10 as will be described later.

The jaw 1 4 has moulded into it, adjacent its recess 26, one end of an elongate member, indicated by the numeral 30, in the form of a so-called flexible shaft, this being composed of tough metal wire turns 32 (see Fig. 2) abutting one another and enclosed in a moulded-on plastics sheathing 34. This flexible shaft 20 can, by the application of positive force, be shaped, within limits, to take up any desired configuration, but nevertheless will remain in the configuration into which it has been shaped, until specifically reshaped.

Flexible shafts of this kind are commercially available and are generally employed for transmitting rotary movement from a drive motor to a drive component, such as a drill, fastener-driver or the like, which may be movable.

At the other end, the elongate member 30 has moulded thereon a banjo-shaped mounting member 36 the stem 38 of the banjo being moulded around the said other end of the elongate member 30 and the wider or round part 40 of the banjo constituting a boss to which a simulated steering wheel 42 is secured. For this purpose, as shown in Fig. 2, the boss 40 is formed with a circumferential groove into which is fitted an annular ring 42 which is H-shaped in radial section and defines a socket protruding at one major side of the boss 40. At the opposite side the boss 40 has a stepped recess or countersink 44 accommodating the head 46 of a wheel fixing bolt 48 which extends substantially axially through the ring 42. A plug or cap 50, located in a respective recess 52 and held in place either by being an interference fit or being cemented therein, serves to mask the head 46 of the bolt 48.

The steering wheel 42 comprises an approximately cylindrical hub 54 the rear end of which is provided with a glued or cementedon frusto-conical retainer ring 56, and shaped to provide an inwardly-directed lip 58. From this end of the hub 54, there extends a tubular extension 60 whose rear end is a close sliding fit onto the socket provided by the annular ring 42 fitted to the boss 40. The steering wheel 42 accordingly is carried by the boss 40 by the extension 60 fitting spigot and socket-wise into the socket provided by the ring 42. The wheel-fixing bolt 48 extends axially of the extension 60 and is secured to the latter by means of a diametrically-disposed pin 62 extending through the bolt 48 and secured by its ends into the extension. This arrangement accordingly secures the wheel 42 to the boss 40, whilst permitting the wheel 42 to be rotated.

Projecting from the hub 54 at the front end, i.e. the end remote from the extension 60 is a displaceable simulated horn button 64, and abutted by this button 64 is a resilient squeaker 66 which will emit a sound when the button 64 is depressed and will return the button 64 to its illustrated nondepressed condition. The button 64 is of cuplike configuration and is retained in place by a flange 68 thereon locating within the hub 54.

The squeaker 66 is accommodated in a flared front and part 70 of the extension 60, which part 70 interfits with the hub 54 which is retained thereon by the lip 58 on the hub 54 snapping behind a circumferential rib 72 around the front end part 70.

Radial spokes 74 serve, in conventional manner, to connect a rim 76 of the steering wheel 42 to the hub 54.

As is illustrated in Fig. 1, and as already described, the amusement device is intended for use with a push chair, such as a so-called baby buggy 10, constructed to include a tubular metal frame including the frame member 22, and the device is fitted to the frame member 22 by means of the clamp 11 in a disposition such that the elongate member 30 extends part way across the buggy 10 forwards of the space to be occupied by a child (not shown) sitting in the buggy. To enable the child to take up occupation of the buggy, the steering wheel 42 and the elongate member 30 are pulled to one side so as not to obstruct access. As soon as the child is in place, the device is manipulated so as to cause the elongate member 30 to take up a disposition (such as is illustrated) wherein it holds the steering wheel 42 in a position conveniently in front of the child.

The steering wheel 42 can now be used by the child for his amusement, for example by pretending to steer as the baby buggy 10 is moved along, and, of course, making warning noises using the simulated horn button 64 if desired. In addition to providing amusement, the device provides a supplementary safeguard against the possibility of the child falling forward from the buggy 10 and helps to ensure that the child remains in position in the buggy 10.

Fig. 4 illustrates a second embodiment of the amusement device of the invention suitable for use, for example, in a motor vehicle or in a cot or other article of furniture having a smooth surface. This embodiment comprises the bendable elongate member 30 with the steering wheel 42 at one end. At the other end, however, there is fixing or locating means in the form of a suction cup or disc 80 whereby the device may be secured in place by pressing the cup or disc 80 firmly onto a glass pane (e.g. a vehicle window), cot panel or like smooth supporting surface.

The amusement device of the invention is not restricted to arrangements embodying simulated steering wheels, and Fig. 5 of the drawings illustrates the case where the device embodies a so-called "activity board" indicated generally by the numeral 82. In this example, the activity board 82 is shaped to resemble an animal's head with a fixed ball 84 simulating the animal's nose. A rim 86 all around the outside edge of the board 82 serves to ensure that any item placed thereon will not fall off, and the board 82 may have any of a wide range of built-on accessories as exemplified by an abacus 88 and a simulated telephone dial 90 in the illustrated example.

An arrangement having another form of fixing or locating means is shown in Fig. 6. In this case, the said means comprises a seat or saddle component 92 to which the respective end of thee elongate member 30 is connected. It will readily be understood that in this case the device is used with a child sitting on the seat or saddle 92 with one leg at each side of the member 30 and the latter projecting upwards to hold the steering wheel 43 or other device at a suitable position to be played with by the child.

Naturally, the invention is not confined to the precise details of the foregoing examples and variations may be made thereto.

In the embodiment of Figs. 1 to 3, for instance, the design of the clamp 11 can be chosen as desired or appropriate to enable the device to be properly clamped to a push chair of any suitable form, in a manner similar to that described, and of course the activity board 82 of Fig. 5, or any similar such board may be used in the construction of Figs. 1 to 3.

Instead of a flexible shaft, which may be solid or near solid, as the elongate member 30, use may be made of a comparable tubular component, such as a helically-wound metal tube of the kind widely used in the construction of multi-positional lamps, e.g. desk lamps. Any suitable manner of mounting the steering wheel 42 or other toy on the end of the elongate member 30 may be employed.

Moreover, the invention is not restricted to devices incorporating steering wheels 42 and/or activity boards 82. Any other suitable toy or plaything may be incorporated, such as an abacus, a rattle or other noise-making device, a mirror (unbreakable of course) or any other suitable or desired object. Where a steering wheel 42 is provided, this may be supplemented by further attachments or accessories, such as a simulated gear lever, a switch or switches, and so on. Other variations are possible.

Claims (14)

1. An amusement device for use by a child sitting down, or in conjunction with a push chair, in a motor vehicle, or in a like location, characterised in that it comprises an elongate member capable of being shaped to a desired configuration, but will remain in such configuration, this member having at one end fixing or locating means whereby it can be held fixed in a suitable or convenient disposition, and having at its other end, a toy or plaything, the fixing or locating means and the elongate member enabling the toy or plaything to be held in a disposition conveniently accessible, for playing with, by a child.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the fixing or locating means comprises a clamp.

3. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the fixing or locating means comprises a suction cup.

4. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the fixing or locating means comprises a seat or saddle upon which a child may sit.

5. A device as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the elongate member is a flexible tube or flexible shaft, composed of a spiral or helical coil the turns of which permit the shaping of the member to its desired configuration.

6. A device as claimed in claim 5 wherein the elongate member has a plastics sheathing.

7. A device as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the toy or plaything is an activity board.

8. A device as claimed in any of claims 1 to 7 wherein the toy or plaything is a simulated steering wheel.

9. A device as claimed in claim 8 wherein the simulated steering wheel is rotatably mounted.

1 0. A device as claimed in claim 5 wherein the steering wheel is rotatably mounted by a hub of the steering wheel, or an extension of said hub, fitting spigot-wise into a socket provided on the said other end of the elongate member.

11. A device as claimed in claim 10 wherein the socket is provided on a boss moulded on to the said elongate member.

1 2. A device as claimed in claim 11 wherein the spigot is provided as an extension of the hub of the wheel and the socket is provided on a boss.

1 3. A device as claimed in claim 1 2 wherein the socket is provided as part of an annular ring, H-shaped in radial section, located in a circumferential groove in said boss.

14. A device as claimed in claim 12 or 1 3 wherein the wheel is retained by a bolt or the like extending axially from the boss and engaged by a pin or the like secured diametrically through the extension of the hub of the wheel.

1 5. A device as claimed in claim 14 wherein the bolt is masked, at the boss end, by its head being recessed or countersunk and a masking plug being located in a respective recess in the boss.

1 6. A device as claimed in claim 1 5 wherein the steering wheel hub accommodates a displaceably located simulated horn button.

1 7. An amusement device substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3, in Fig. 4, in Fig.

5, or in Fig. 6 of the accompanying drawings.