DISPENSER FOR FUSIBLE TOY BEAD

Abstract

A dispenser for a fusible toy bead includes a storage container including a plurality of bead storage chambers having opening and disposed around a rotation axis, and a main body including a mounting support portion for detachably supporting the storage container and configured to rotatably support the storage container. The main body further includes a dispensing port that is disposed to face the opening of one of the plurality of bead storage chambers, an opening and closing switch mechanism that opens and closes the dispensing port, and a passage that connects from the dispensing port to a discharge port through which the fusible toy bead is discharged.

Claims

1. A dispenser for a fusible toy bead, the dispenser comprising: a storage container including a plurality of bead storage chambers having opening and disposed around a rotation axis; and a main body including a mounting support portion for detachably supporting the storage container and configured to rotatably support the storage container, wherein the main body further includes: a dispensing port that is disposed to face the opening of one of the plurality of bead storage chambers; an opening and closing switch mechanism that opens and closes the dispensing port; and a passage that connects from the dispensing port to a discharge port through which the fusible toy bead is discharged.

2. The dispenser for a fusible toy bead according to claim 1, wherein the passage extends in a direction along the rotation axis of the storage container.

3. The dispenser for a fusible toy bead according to claim 1, wherein the main body further includes a rotation support portion that supports the storage container at a predetermined angular position.

4. The dispenser for a fusible toy bead according to claim 3, wherein the storage container further includes: a flange portion with which the mounting support portion engages to fix the storage container to the main body, and an engaged portion with which the rotation support portion engages on the flange portion.

5. The dispenser for a fusible toy bead according to claim 2, wherein a bottom surface of the main body facing the bead storage chambers is inclined downward toward the dispensing port.

6. The dispenser for a fusible toy bead according to claim 1, wherein a partition wall of the bead storage chambers is formed in a convex curved shape on one side in a circumferential direction when viewed from an direction along the opening.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0008] FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a dispenser;

[0009] FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of the dispenser;

[0010] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the dispenser;

[0011] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a storage container;

[0012] FIG. 5 is a perspective view, seen from a switch member side, of a switch member and an engaging member;

[0013] FIG. 6 is a perspective view, seen from an engaging member side, of the switch member and the engaging member;

[0014] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along a line VII-VII of the dispenser of FIG. 1 with a part thereof omitted;

[0015] FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along a line VIII-VIII of the dispenser of FIG. 1;

[0016] FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VIII-VIII of the dispenser while the switch member is pressed down;

[0017] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VIII-VIII of the dispenser while the switch member is being released;

[0018] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VIII-VIII of the dispenser while the switch member is released; and

[0019] FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a method for replacing the storage container.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0020] An embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a dispenser 1. FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of the dispenser 1. The dispenser 1 of the present embodiment has a function of storing different types of fusible toy beads 9 and allowing a user to select one of the fusible toy beads 9 and discharge the selected one from a discharge port 25 of the dispenser 1. Note that in the present embodiment, a main body 2 side located at a lower portion in FIG. 1 is defined as a lower side of the dispenser 1, and a side opposite thereto is defined as an upper side of the dispenser 1.

[0021] The fusible toy beads 9 contain a resin, which is a water-soluble material, and can be connected to each other by bringing the fusible toy beads 9 into contact with each other in a wet state and drying the fusible toy beads 9. A user can combine a plurality of fusible toy beads 9 to produce any assembly and play the assembly. Specifically, the fusible toy beads 9 are formed by blending and kneading polyvinyl alcohol with resin. The resin for forming the fusible toy beads can freely select a transparent material, a translucent material, or an opaque material. The fusible toy beads are formed in an approximately spherical shape, and various shapes, such as a spherical shape, a convex polyhedron (a regular triacontahedron or the like), or a concave polyhedron (a star shape or the like), can be used.

[0022] The dispenser 1 includes a main body 2 and a storage container 3. The main body 2 is formed in an inverted cone shape tapering downward, and in the present embodiment, is decorated on an outer surface thereof to resemble a cone portion of an ice cream cone. The storage container 3 is formed in a substantially semicircular dome shape or a spherical segment shape when viewed from a side, and in the present embodiment, is decorated on an outer surface thereof to resemble an ice cream portion of the ice cream cone (ice cream scooped with a disher). The main body 2 rotatably supports the storage container 3.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 4, the storage container 3 has a storage space for the fusible toy beads 9, which is recessed inside. The storage container 3 has a plurality of bead storage chambers 31a, 31b, and 31c (31) having openings 311 and disposed around a rotation axis Q, as storage spaces. In the present embodiment, the storage container 3 has three bead storage chambers 31 with approximately the same volume.

[0024] The bead storage chamber 31 is partitioned by partition walls 312. When viewed from an opening 311 side in a direction along the rotation axis Q, each of the partition walls 312 is formed in a convex curved shape on one side in a circumferential direction (in other words, the partition wall 312 is formed in a concave curved shape on the other side in the circumferential direction).

[0025] The storage container 3 also includes flange portions 32 with which mounting support portions 4 (see FIG. 7) engage to fix the storage container 3 to the main body 2, and engaged portions 33 with which a rotation support portion 5 (see FIG. 7 and the like) engages at the flange portions 32. The flange portions 32 are formed in an annular shape around the outer periphery of the openings of the storage container 3. Each of the engaged portions 33 has a notch 331 that is substantially rectangular when viewed from a direction of the rotation axis Q, and a groove 332 that is recessed around an edge portion of the notch 331 and has a substantially obtuse V-shape when viewed in a radial direction. The groove 332 is provided at a connection portion between the partition wall 312 and an outer wall 34 of the storage container 3.

[0026] In the present embodiment, the storage container 3 has the outer wall 34 made of a translucent material, but the outer wall 34 may be made of a transparent material, or may have a window to allow a stored item to be seen. Alternatively, the storage container 3 may be made of an opaque material when there is no problem with the visibility of the fusible toy beads currently selected by the user, such as when the type of fusible toy beads 9 in each of the bead storage chambers 31 is displayed on the outer wall 34 side, or the fusible toy beads 9 of the same type are stored in any of the bead storage chambers 31.

[0027] As shown in an exploded perspective view of FIG. 3, the main body 2 includes a mounting portion 21 for the storage container 3, a dispensing port 22 for the fusible toy beads 9, an opening and closing switch mechanism 23 for opening and closing the dispensing port, the discharge port 25 for the fusible toy beads 9, and a passage 24 that connects from the dispensing port 22 to the discharge port 25.

[0028] The mounting portion 21 is formed in a substantially circular concave shape and includes a bottom surface 211 and an annular outer peripheral wall 212 that covers an outer peripheral edge of the bottom surface 211. The bottom surface 211 includes an outer surface 211a that is formed in a substantially annular shape on an outer peripheral wall 212 side and an inner surface 211b that is formed in a circular shape and at an inner side of the outer surface 211a. As shown in FIG. 8, the outer surface 211a is a surface substantially parallel to a horizontal plane. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the inner surface 211b slopes downward toward the dispensing port 22 and is formed in a bowl shape.

[0029] The mounting portion 21 has the outer peripheral wall 212 that extends upward from the outer periphery of the bottom surface 211 and is formed in a shape of a short cylindrical frame. An inner diameter of the outer peripheral wall 212 is larger than an outer diameter of the flange portion 32 of the storage container 3. Therefore, the movement of the storage container 3 in a horizontal direction (a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis Q or an axis P) is restricted by the outer peripheral wall 212, and the storage container 3 is rotatably mounted on the mounting portion 21.

[0030] On an inner surface of the outer peripheral wall 212, the mounting portion 21 includes the mounting support portions 4 that detachably support the storage container 3. As shown in FIG. 7, each of the mounting support portions 4 has a mounting support member 41 and a support concave portion 213 on the main body 2 side that supports a supported portion 411 of the mounting support member 41. The mounting support member 41 is formed in a substantially T-shape in a cross-sectional view of FIG. 7. The mounting support member 41 has a flat operation portion 412 at a lower end side of the supported portion 411 (see also FIG. 2), and an engaging claw 413 (engaging portion) at an upper end side of a flat portion opposite to the operation portion 412. The engaging claw 413 is supported while being spaced upward from the bottom surface 211 of the mounting portion 21.

[0031] When the user presses the operation portion 412 toward the axis P (inner side) of the dispenser 1, the mounting support member 41 tilts with the supported portion 411 as a fulcrum, and the engaging claw 413 on the other end side can be moved to a side opposite to the axis P (outer side). The engaging claw 413 can move to the outer side of the flange portion 32 of the storage container 3 mounted on the main body 2. Therefore, in the dispenser 1, the storage container 3 can be attached to and detached from the main body 2 by pressing the operation portion 412 and releasing the operation portion 412 from being pressed.

[0032] As shown in FIG. 7, the main body 2 includes the rotation support portion 5 that supports the storage container 3 at a predetermined angular position around the rotation axis Q. The rotation support portion 5 is formed in a spring shape with a base portion 51 fixed to the main body 2 and supported in a cantilevered manner. At a lower side of the bottom surface 211 of the main body 2, the rotation support portion 5 includes an arm portion 52 extending outward in the radial direction from the base portion 51, and an engaging protrusion 53 protruding upward at an end portion of the arm portion 52. As shown in an enlarged view of a section A in FIG. 3, in an unloaded state, the engaging protrusion 53 is inserted from below through a substantially rectangular notch 211a1 provided in the bottom surface 211 of the mounting portion 21 and protrudes upward.

[0033] The engaging protrusion 53 has inclined portions 531 on both sides around the axis P of the main body 2. When the storage container 3 is mounted on the main body 2, the engaging protrusion 53 of the rotation support portion 5 engages with the engaged portion 33, thereby restricting movement in a rotational direction. Meanwhile, when a load greater than a predetermined magnitude is applied to the storage container 3 in either rotational direction, the groove 332 of the engaged portion 33 is in slidable contact with the inclined portion 531 of the engaging protrusion 53, a tip end of the rotation support portion 5 is pressed downward into the notch 211a1, and the engagement between the engaging protrusion 53 and the engaged portion 33 is released.

[0034] Accordingly, by rotating the storage container 3, the engaged portion 33 that engages with the engaging protrusion 53 can be switched to the engaged portion 33 corresponding to another bead storage chamber 31. Therefore, the bead storage chamber 31 that corresponds to the dispensing port 22 in the main body 2 can be easily switched without removing the storage container 3 from the main body 2.

[0035] As shown in FIG. 3, the dispensing port 22 is formed in a substantially rectangular shape and is large enough to allow the fusible toy bead 9 to pass through. A rectangular slit portion 221 having a width narrower than an opening diameter of the dispensing port 22 is formed from part of an inner edge of the dispensing port 22. A recess 211c which is continuous with the inner surface 211b of the bottom surface 211 is provided around part of opening edges of the dispensing port 22 and the slit portion 221. The recess 211c is formed in a substantially circular shape in a plan view, and is formed in a flat shape substantially perpendicular to the axis P.

[0036] As shown in FIG. 8, when the storage container 3 is mounted on the main body 2, the dispensing port 22 is positioned to face the opening 311 of one of the plurality of bead storage chambers 31 (bead storage chamber 31a in FIGS. 8 to 11). The bottom surface 211 of the main body 2 facing the bead storage chamber 31 is inclined downward toward the dispensing port 22 by the inner surface 211b.

[0037] The opening and closing switch mechanism 23 includes the dispensing port 22, a switch member 6, and an engaging member 7 (see also FIGS. 5 and 6). In FIGS. 5 and 6, the switch member 6 integrally includes an operation portion 61 formed in a substantially rectangular shape, a movement passage 62 constituting part of the passage 24 for the fusible toy bead 9, a guided groove 63, an opening and closing portion 64 for opening and blocking the dispensing port 22, a protrusion portion 65 provided at the engaging member 7, and a shaft portion 66. In FIGS. 5 and 6, a positional relationship between the switch member 6 and the engaging member 7 is the same as that of the dispenser 1 shown in FIG. 8 while the operation portion 61 is pressed down.

[0038] The movement passage 62 is an enclosed space formed in a substantial up-down direction and wide enough to allow the fusible toy bead 9 to pass through. The movement passage 62 is formed in a concave groove shape. The guided groove 63 is cut out along a protruding direction of the operation portion 61 and the shaft portion 66 to form in a concave groove shape. The movement passage 62 and the guided groove 63 are disposed substantially perpendicular to each other. A flat guide plate 27 provided on the main body 2 is inserted through the guided groove 63. The guide plate 27 guides the switch member 6 in a pressing-down direction by engaging with the guided groove 63, and also functions as a restricting member that restricts the dispensing of the fusible toy bead 9 midway through the passage 24 when the dispensing port 22 is in an open state (see FIG. 9 ).

[0039] The opening and closing portion 64 protrudes above the switch member 6. The opening and closing portion 64 is formed in a substantially trapezoidal flat shape in a side view. The opening and closing portion 64 has inclined portions 641 on both an operation portion 61 side and a side opposite to the operation portion 61. As shown in FIG. 8 and the like, the opening and closing portion 64 is disposed to protrude above an opening plane of the dispensing port 22.

[0040] The protrusion portion 65 is formed in a substantially triangular prism shape. The protrusion portion 65 protrudes from the switch member 6 toward the engaging member 7. The protrusion portion 65 is disposed in an inverted triangular shape in a cross-sectional view such that the inclined portions are located on both an operation portion 61 side at the lower side and a side opposite to the operation portion 61. As shown in FIG. 8, an elastic member S1 is wound around the shaft portion 66. In the present embodiment, the elastic member S1 is a coil spring. One end of the elastic member S1 is disposed at a base end portion of the shaft portion 66, and the other end of the elastic member S1 is disposed in an elastic body storage groove 26 of the main body 2. The switch member 6 is constantly elastically loaded by the elastic member S1 in a direction away from a bottom portion of the elastic body storage groove 26.

[0041] The engaging member 7 is a block-shaped member having a substantially parallelepiped shape. The engaging member 7 includes an engaging portion 71 and guided portions 72. Both the engaging portion 71 and the guided portions 72 protrude toward the switch member 6. The engaging portion 71 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape. The guided portions 72 extend in the up-down direction and are arranged side by side with the engaging portion 71 sandwiched therebetween.

[0042] The engaging member 7 is subjected to an upward force by an elastic member S2 (see FIG. 7) while a movement range in the up-down direction is restricted within the main body 2. The movement of the engaging member 7 in the up-down direction is guided by the guided portions 72 supported by a guiding portion (not shown) in the main body 2.

[0043] Therefore, in FIG. 8, when the switch member 6 is pressed down against a resilient force of the elastic member S, the protrusion portion 65 abuts against the engaging portion 71 to press the engaging member 7 downward (the entire engaging member 7 is not shown in FIG. 8), and moves over the engaging portion 71, and the switch member 6 is in a pressed-down state (see FIG. 9). In FIG. 9, when the pressing-down operation on the switch member 6 is released, the resilient force of the elastic member S causes the switch member 6 to move away from the elastic body storage groove 26, and the protrusion portion 65 moves over the engaging portion 71 again, and the switch member 6 returns to an unpressed-down state in which the switch member 6 protrudes outward from the main body 2 (see FIG. 8).

[0044] The switching of the opening and closing of the dispensing port 22 by the opening and closing portion can be set to coincide with a timing at which the protrusion portion 65 moves over the engaging portion 71. Therefore, an operator can feel a suitable clicking sensation when pressing down the operation portion 61 and releasing the operation portion 61 from being pressed down, and can easily recognize a timing at which the fusible toy bead 9 is dispensed to the dispensing port 22, or at which the dispensing port 22 is closed and the fusible toy bead 9 is discharged.

[0045] As shown in FIG. 8 and the like, the main body 2 includes the passage 24 for the fusible toy bead 9, which extends in a direction along the rotation axis Q of the storage container 3 (or the axis P coaxial with the rotation axis Q). The passage 24 extends from the dispensing port 22 to the discharge port 25. The passage 24 also includes the movement passage 62. As shown in FIG. 7, the passage 24 is bent in a substantially S-shape, and a section from a discharge port 621 of the movement passage 62 to the discharge port 25 of the main body 2 is formed non-linearly. The passage 24 includes a buffer portion 241, which is a portion having a protruding inner wall (see FIG. 7). The fusible toy bead 9 moving through the passage 24 is decelerated by hitting the buffer portion 241, preventing excessive discharge from the discharge port 25.

[0046] Next, a using example of the dispenser 1 will be described. First, in an initial state in which the storage container 3 shown in FIG. 8 is mounted on the main body 2, the dispensing port 22 is blocked by the opening and closing portion 64, and thus fusible toy beads 9a, 9b, and 9c (9) remain on the bottom surface 211 of the bead storage chamber 31 (31a).

[0047] When the operation portion 61 is pressed down, as shown in FIG. 9, the switch member 6 moves toward the bottom portion of the elastic body storage groove 26 of the main body 2, and the opening and closing portion 64 also moves toward the slit portion 221, and thus the dispensing port 22 is in an open state. Accordingly, the fusible toy bead 9a moves into a space SP surrounded by the movement passage 62 and the end portion of the guide plate 27. Note that the movement of the fusible toy bead 9a toward the movement direction of the switch member 6 and toward a depth direction (depth direction of the paper in FIG. 9) perpendicular to the direction of the axis P is restricted by a guide wall 242 (see FIG. 7) in the main body 2.

[0048] As shown in FIG. 10, when the pressing-down operation on the operation portion 61 is gradually released, the switch member 6 moves away from the bottom portion of the elastic body storage groove 26, and the opening and closing portion 64 also moves from the slit portion 221 toward the dispensing port 22. The fusible toy bead 9a dispensed first moves away from the tip end of the guide plate 27 along with the movement of the movement passage 62, and thus the blocking of the movement passage 62 is released, and the fusible toy bead 9a may fall toward the discharge port 25.

[0049] When the opening and closing portion 64 moves from the slit portion 221 toward the dispensing port 22, the next waiting fusible toy bead 9b is guided by the inclined portion 641 of the opening and closing portion 64 to move toward an upper side of the dispensing port 22. Accordingly, the dispenser 1 separates the fusible toy bead 9a to be first dispensed from the next waiting fusible toy bead 9b, and makes the dispensing port 22 in a closed state. Therefore, the dispenser 1 can reliably discharge one fusible toy bead 9 toward the discharge port 25 by a single operation on the operation portion 61.

[0050] As shown in FIG. 11, the fusible toy bead 9a discharged from the movement passage 62 collides with the buffer portion 241 in the passage 24 to prevent a movement speed from increasing, and is then discharged to the outside through the discharge port 25. In this way, the user can use the dispenser 1 to accurately discharge the fusible toy beads 9 stored in any of the bead storage chambers 31, one by one.

[0051] Next, an operation example of replacing the storage container 3 will be described. In the present embodiment, the storage container 3 has three bead storage chambers 31, and thus if the user wants to dispense four or more types of fusible toy beads 9 by using the dispenser 1, the user can mount, on the main body 2, a storage container 3 in which the desired fusible toy beads 9 are stored among a plurality of storage containers 3 prepared in advance, thereby easily switching between the storage containers 3.

[0052] FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a method for replacing the storage container 3. A storage case 8 is capable of storing the plurality of storage containers 3 and is shown schematically. The storage case 8 is provided with a plurality of concave portions 81 for storing the storage containers 3. Each of the concave portions 81 has an opening with a diameter smaller than the flange portion 32 and larger than the outer wall 34 of the storage container 3.

[0053] FIG. 12 shows a case where no storage container 3 is mounted on the main body 2. The user first pinches and presses down on the operation portions 412, and the facing engaging claws 413 in the mounting portion 21 are widened. The engaging claws 413 can be widened to a diameter greater than an outer diameter of the flange portion 32 of the storage container 3. When the mounting portion 21 of the main body 2 is brought into contact with the flange portion 32 of the storage container 3 while the engaging claws 413 are widened, and the pinching operation on the operation portion 412 is released, the engaging claws 413 engage with the flange portion 32 (as shown in FIG. 7), and thus the storage container 3 is easily mounted on the main body 2.

[0054] In a case of removing the storage container 3 from the main body 2, a reverse operation is performed on the empty concave portion 81, so that the storage container 3 can be easily separated from the main body 2. For the dispenser 1, it is possible to easily switch to a selected storage container 3 from the plurality of storage containers 3, and thus when a plurality of types of fusible toy beads 9 are desired to be treated, the dispenser 1 can be used without increasing a size of the storage container 3. Therefore, the entire dispenser 1 does not become heavy, the desired fusible toy bead can be easily selected, and a small and easy-to-use dispenser 1 can be constructed.

[0055] The embodiment of the present disclosure described above allows for providing the dispenser 1 for a fusible toy bead according to the following aspects.

[0056] A dispenser for a fusible toy bead according to a first aspect includes: a storage container including a plurality of bead storage chambers having opening and disposed around a rotation axis; and a main body including a mounting support portion for detachably supporting the storage container and configured to rotatably support the storage container, in which the main body further includes: a dispensing port that is disposed to face the opening of one of the plurality of bead storage chambers; an opening and closing switch mechanism that opens and closes the dispensing port; and a passage that connects from the dispensing port to a discharge port through which the fusible toy bead is discharged.

[0057] According to the aspect, the dispenser for a fusible toy bead can be configured such that a desired fusible toy bead can be easily selected since the storage container including the plurality of bead storage chambers can be easily replaced.

[0058] In the dispenser for a fusible toy bead according to a second aspect, the passage extends in a direction along the rotation axis of the storage container.

[0059] According to the aspect, the bead storage chambers of the storage container are arranged in a horizontal direction when viewed from a user side. Therefore, the bead storage chamber can be easily selected, and if an outer wall of the storage container is made of a translucent material, the fusible toy bead inside the bead storage chamber can be easily seen, resulting in a user-friendly dispenser.

[0060] In the dispenser for a fusible toy bead according to a third aspect, the main body further includes a rotation support portion that supports the storage container at a predetermined angular position.

[0061] According to this aspect, the dispenser can stably support the selected bead storage chamber facing the dispensing port of the main body, and thus the fusible toy bead desired by a user can be stably dispensed.

[0062] In the dispenser for a fusible toy bead according to a fourth aspect, the storage container further includes a flange portion with which the mounting support portion engages to fix the storage container to the main body, and an engaged portion with which the rotation support portion engages on the flange portion.

[0063] According to this aspect, the storage container can be securely fixed to the main body while being easily attached to and detached from the main body.

[0064] In the dispenser for a fusible toy bead according to a fifth aspect, a bottom surface of the main body facing the bead storage chambers is inclined downward toward the dispensing port.

[0065] According to this aspect, the dispenser guides the fusible toy bead in the bead storage chamber toward the dispensing port of the main body, and thus clogging and discharge failure of the fusible toy bead can be prevented.

[0066] In the dispenser for a fusible toy bead according to a sixth aspect, a partition wall of the bead storage chambers is formed in a convex curved shape on one side in a circumferential direction when viewed from an direction along the opening.

[0067] According to this aspect, the dispenser can be configured to select the fusible toy bead desired to be discharged by rotating the storage container.

[0068] The embodiment of the present disclosure has been described above. The aspects of the present disclosure are not limited to this embodiment. For example, in the present embodiment, the storage container 3 is described as being formed in a substantially semicircular dome shape or a spherical segment shape when viewed from a side, but may be formed as an ice cream portion of a soft serve ice cream that is a substantially cone shape.