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(11) | EP 1 685 881 A1 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | Ball-kicking toy figure |
| (57) A toy figure comprises a body (11), and a fixed leg extends from the body (11) to
serve as a support for the body (11) upon a playing surface. A pivoting leg (13) extends
from the body (11) and is pivotal between a rest position and a loaded position. A
spring (17) bears against the body (11) and the pivoting leg (13) and biases the pivoting
leg (13) from the loaded position towards the rest position when a player moves the
pivoting leg (13) from the rest position towards the loaded position.
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[0001] The present invention relates to a ball-kicking toy figure. More particularly, although not exclusively, the invention relates to a toy figure having a spring-loaded leg that can be released by children to kick a toy ball in a miniature football game.
[0002] It is an object of the present invention to provide a toy figure having a spring-loaded leg to enable kicking of a toy ball in a miniature football game and/or provide a toy set including such a toy figure on a stand having a number of markings or indentations on which a toy ball can be placed to enable the spring-loaded leg of the toy figure to kick the ball with a desired trajectory.
[0003] There is disclosed herein a toy figure comprising:
a body,
a fixed leg extending from the body and serving as a support for the body upon a playing surface,
a pivoting leg extending from the body and pivotal between a rest position and a loaded position, and
a spring bearing against the body and the pivoting leg and biasing the pivoting leg from the loaded position towards the rest position when a player moves the pivoting leg from the rest position towards the loaded position.
[0004] Preferably, the toy figure further comprises pivot limiting stopper preventing movement of the pivoting leg beyond the rest position and loaded position, respectively.
[0005] Preferably, the fixed leg includes a foot having a pivot pin-receiving aperture in a bottom surface thereof.
[0006] There is further disclosed herein a combination comprising the above-disclosed toy figure, and a stand having a pivot pin extending upwardly therefrom and received by the aperture to pivotally support the figure, the stand further comprising a plurality of ball-support dimples positioned radially from the pivot pin.
[0010] A preferred form of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Fig. 1 is a schematic front elevation of a toy goal kicker affixed to a stand,
Fig. 2 is a schematic front elevation of the toy goal kicker being detached from the stand,
Fig. 3 is a schematic rear elevation of the toy goal kicker of Fig. 1,
Fig. 4 is a schematic side elevation of the goal kicker of Fig. 1 with his kicking leg in a released position,
Fig. 5 is a schematic side elevation of the goal kicker of Figure 4 with his kicking leg in a spring-loaded pre-release position,
Fig. 6 is a schematic elevation showing an internal spring and pivot limiting stopper in the configuration of Fig. 5,
Fig. 7 is a schematic elevation showing the internal spring and pivot limiting stopper in the configuration of Fig. 4,
Fig. 8 is a schematic illustration of the internal spring,
Figs. 9, 10 and 11 are schematic perspective illustrations of the toy goal kicker upon a stand having a number of ball-support dimples and a ball in various positions thereon,
Fig. 12 is a schematic perspective illustration of the stand shown in Figs. 9 to 11 with the goal kicker being detached therefrom,
Fig. 13 is a schematic plan view of the stand shown in Fig. 12,
Fig. 14 is a schematic elevation of the stand of Fig. 13 and a toy ball resting thereon,
Figs. 15 to 18 are schematic plan illustrations of the stand of Fig. 13, showing the features of the toy goal kicker and a toy ball resting upon various different support dimples of the stand,
Fig. 19 is a schematic perspective illustration of a goal net and a stand for a goal keeper with the goal net lifted from the handle of the stand,
Fig. 20 is a schematic perspective illustration of the goal net and stand of Fig. 19 with the goal net having its bottom edge received within a slot provided on the handle of the stand, and
Fig. 21 is a schematic perspective illustration of the elements depicted in Figs. 19 and 20 with a goal keeper figure fixed upon the stand in use.
[0011] In Figs. 1 to 12 of the accompanying drawings there is depicted schematically a toy figure 10 in the form of a football goal kicker having a body 11, a fixed leg 12 and a pivoting/kicking leg 13. The fixed leg 12 can be attached to a simple base 14 is shown in Figs. 1 to 7, or a dimpled base 15 as shown in Figs. 9 to 12.
[0012] The pivoting leg 13 has a pin 16 about which a coil spring 17 is located. There is a stopper 18 associated with the spring 17 and pin 16, which engages with an abutment 19 formed within the body 11 to limit the extent to which the pivoting leg 13 can be drawn backwards against tension of the spring 17. There is a further abutment 20 formed within the body 11 against which the stopper 18 bears in the configuration depicted in Figs. 4 and 7 to limit the kicked-forward position of the pivoting leg 13 when it is released in play.
[0013] The stand 15 includes a number of dimples 21 and a pivot pin 25. The dimples 21 (see Fig. 14) are shallow concave recesses having a radius approximating that of the toy ball 22. The foot 23 of the fixed leg 12 has an aperture 24 in its bottom surface into which the pin 25 extends to support the goal kicker 10 in a tight, yet pivotal manner. The goal kicker can therefore be positioned such that its kicking leg 13 aligns variously with the respective dimples 21 so that the toy ball 22 when positioned selectively upon one of the dimples can be kicked to have a desired trajectory. Figs. 15 to 18 show alignment of the foot of the kicking leg 13 with respect to the toy ball 22 when the toy ball is positioned in each of the dimples 21.
[0014] A second toy figure in the form of a goal keeper 26 is shown in Fig. 21. The goal keeper has a pair of fixed legs each attached to pin 27 of a base plate 28 from which there extends a handle 29 at the trailing edge of which there is provided an upstanding grip 30. There is a transverse slot 31 provided between a pair of upstanding tabs 32 on the handle 29 and an edge 33 of a goal net 34 is received in the slot 31.
[0015] The goal net 34 includes a pair of side portions 35 and a back portion 36. Each side portions 35 has a lower extremity 37 that bears upon a flat playing surface in use. The edge 33 (being a bottom edge of a mid-portion of the back portion 36) is spaced upwardly so as not to extend to the flat playing surface, thereby providing a space through which the handle 29 extends.
[0016] In play, a child manipulating the goal kicker places the toy ball in one of the dimples and draws the kicking leg 13 backwardly against the tension of spring 17. When the kicking leg is released, the spring flicks the leg 13 forward so that the ball 22 flies toward the goal net 34. A child manipulating the goalkeeper grasps the grip 30 to shift the goalkeeper left and right with respect to the goal net in an attempt to block the ball.
a body (11),
a fixed leg (12) extending from the body (11) and serving as a support for the body (11) upon a playing surface,
a pivoting leg (13) extending from the body (11) and pivotal between a rest position and a loaded position, and
a spring (17) bearing against the body (11) and the pivoting leg (13) and biasing the pivoting leg (13) from the loaded position towards the rest position when a player moves the pivoting leg (13) from the rest position towards the loaded position.