The present invention relates to a plate-assembled toy car, and more particularly to a plate-assembled toy car having a ball of predetermined weight and size rotatably supported on a central opening the toy car, so that rolling of the ball may bring the toy car to quickly move forward or backward on a surface.

Most conventional plate-assembled toy cars are not able to move quickly in different directions, and therefore not interesting for play. It is therefore tried by the inventor to develop an improved plate-assembled toy car that is able to move quickly in different directions to eliminate the drawbacks existed in the conventional plate-assembled toy cars.

A primary object of the present invention is to provide a plate-assembled toy car with rolling ball, so that the toy car is able to move quickly when the ball rotates.

To achieve the above and other objects, the plate-assembled toy car with rolling ball according to the present invention mainly includes a car body having front and rear wheel sets mounted to front and rear ends, respectively, of the car body, and a ball of predetermined weight and size supported in a central opening formed on the car body. The central opening of the car body is provided with two opposite pivot shafts, and the ball is provided with two symmetrical pivot shaft holes for movably engaging with the pivot shafts on the car body, such that the ball is rotatably supported on the car body while contacting with a surface below the toy car. When the ball rotates about the pivot shafts, the car body is brought to quickly move forward or backward on the surface.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the central opening of the car body is provided with a transversely extended pivot shaft, and the ball is provided with a pivot shaft hole extended through two opposite sides of the ball corresponding to the pivot shaft on the central opening of the car body, such that the ball is rotatably supported on the car body through engagement of the pivot shaft hole with the pivot shaft on the central opening to contact with a surface below the toy car. Again, when the ball rotates about the pivot shafts, the car body is brought to quickly move forward or backward on the surface.

The structure and the technical means adopted by the present invention to achieve the above and other obj ects can be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein

• Fig. 1 is an assembled perspective view of a plate-assembled toy car with rolling ball according to an embodiment of the present invention;
• Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of Fig. 1;
• Fig. 3 shows the manner of moving the toy car of Fig. 1; and
• Fig. 4 is a plan view of a plate-assembled toy car with rolling ball according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Please refer to Figs. 1 and 2 that are assembled and exploded perspective views, respectively, of a plate-assembled toy car with rolling ball according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown, the toy car includes a car body 11 assembled from a plurality of flat plates with an opening 14 formed at a center of the car body 11, a front and a rear wheel set 12, 13 rotatably mounted to a front and a rear end, respectively, of the car body 11, and a ball 15 having predetermined weight and size rotatably supported on the car body 11 in the central opening 14. The ball 15 may be, for example, a glass ball, a steel ball, or the like. Two pivot shaft holes 151 are symmetrically formed at two opposite sides of the ball 15 corresponding to two radially inward pivot shafts 141 formed at two laterally opposite points of the central opening 14, such that the two pivot shafts 141 may be inserted into the two pivot shaft holes 151 to support the ball 15 in the central opening 14 while allowing the ball 15 to rotate about the two pivot shafts 141 and contact with a surface below the toy car. As can be seen from Fig. 3, due to the weight thereof, the ball 15 rotating about the two pivot shafts 141 is able to bring the car body 11 to quickly move forward or backward on the surface below it. That is, the plate-assembled toy car of the present invention is quickly movable in different directions and therefore more interesting for play.

In another embodiment of the present invention shown in Fig. 4, the plate-assembled toy car includes a car body 11 assembled from a plurality of flat plates with an opening 14 formed at a center of the car body 11, a front and a rear wheel set 12, 13 rotatably mounted to a front and a rear end, respectively, of the car body 11, and a ball 15 having predetermined weight and size and rotatably supported on the car body 11 in the central opening 14. The ball 15 may be, for example, a glass ball, a steel ball, or the like. A pivot shaft hole 21 is formed on the ball 15 to extend through two opposite sides of the ball 15, and a pivot shaft 22 is provided in the central opening 14 on the car body 11 corresponding to the pivot shaft hole 21 formed on the ball 15, such that the pivot shaft 22 may be extended through the pivot shaft hole 21 to support the ball 15 in the central opening 14 while allowing the ball 15 to rotate about the pivot shaft 22 and contact with a surface below the toy car. Again, due to the weight of the ball 15, the ball 15 rotating about the pivot shaft 22 is able to bring the car body 11 to quickly move forward or backward on the surface. That is, the plate-assembled toy car of the present invention is quickly movable in different directions and therefore more interesting for play.