[Title of the Invention] Car Type Model

[Technical Field]

[0001]

The present invention relates to a car type model. [Background Art]

[0002]

Conventionally, a car type model (a minicar) is broadly popular as a toy for children or as ornaments which can be endured to see by adults. The ornamental minicar is a commercial product for a user who wants to take a look and enjoy beauty of the minicar and wants to keep at least a shape of a desirable car at a hand. For this reason, it is demanded to finely fabricate the minicar in order to intimate an authentic car as greatly as possible . Therefore, there are offered minicars for ornamental purpose which really reproduce authentic cars from exterior decors to interior decors.

[0003]

Referring to the ornamental minicar of this kind, moreover, a user enjoys beauty given when placing and seeing the minicar, and furthermore, actually picks up the minicar by a hand to experience a massive feeling and enjoys the minicar by opening a door or the like. For this reason, the ornamental minicar is often manufactured by die casting using a metal such as an alloy or brass in order to exhibit the massive feeling or opening/closing stability.

[0004]

The die casting is a method of causing a molten alloy to flow into a precision mold made of a metal by applying pressure, thereby performing casting. Since a cast metal thus manufactured has high dimension accuracy, the die casting is suitable for mass production of products under the same standard. However, a shape in every fine part of the ornamental minicar cannot be molded by the die casting and the fine part is to be processed after pull-out of the mold. Conventionally, it is necessary to carry out the processing manually by a skilled worker. For this reason, there is a problem in that the ornamental minicar cannot be mass-produced and a manufacturing cost is increased.

[0005]

On the other hand, referring to a minicar formed of a resin which is often used as a material of a model, it is possible to process a fine part much more easily than a minicar formed of a metal. Consequently, it is also possible to reduce a manufacturing cost . However, the minicar formed of a resin has no massive feeling when it is held in a hand, and gives a tawdry impression. Moreover, the resin is apt to be flexed by slight force so that opening/closing stability related to an opening/closing portion such as a door or a hood is also damaged by the flexure. In some cases, furthermore, the opening/closing portion is not closed properly due to aging degradation of the resin.

[0006]

Referring to a running toy having an outside of a body configured from a soft material, it is devised to provide an intermediate plate in a fixation state between the body and each wheel in order to smoothly enable running (for example, see Patent Document 1) .

Patent Document 1: Japanese Utility Model No.

3000273

[Disclosure of the Invention]

[0007]

According to the technique described in the Patent Document 1, the intermediate plate reinforces the strength of the body around the wheel to avoid friction of the wheel and the body. Consequently, it is possible to smoothly carry out the running. However, it is impossible to prevent the flexure of the whole body. For this reason, it is impossible to solve a problem in that the opening/closing stability related to the opening/closing portion is damaged. Moreover, it is also impossible to solve the problem in that there is no massive feeling when holding the body in a hand, resulting in a tawdry impression .

[0008]

In order to solve the problems, it is an object of the present invention to enable exhibition of a massive feeling when a user holds a car type model in a hand and opening/closing stability related to an opening/closing portion even though the body is molded by a resin so as to enable a fine part to be easily processed.

[0009]

In order to attain the object, a car type model according to the present invention fixes a reinforcing member formed of a metal to a body formed of a resin. Referring to a length in a longitudinal direction, the reinforcing member is configured to have such a size as to include a range from a region on a front side in which a front tire is present to a region on a rear side in which a rear tire is present. Referring to a width in a transverse direction, the reinforcing member is configured to have such a size as to include a range from a region in which a tire on a left side is present to a region in which a tire on a right side is present.

[0010]

According to the present invention having the structure described above, it is possible to flex a body with difficulty by a reinforcing member formed of a metal even though the body is molded by a resin so as to easily enable the processing of the fine part. Therefore, it is possible to exhibit the opening/closing stability related to the opening/closing portion. Moreover, the reinforcing member is constituted by a metal and is formed to be comparatively large in order to include at least a range from a region in which a front tire is present to a region in which a rear tire is present. For this reason, it is also possible to exhibit a massive feeling when a user holds the car type model in a hand.

[Brief description of the Drawings]

[0011]

Fig. 1 is an exploded view showing an example of a structure of a car type model (a minicar) according to the present embodiment.

Fig. 2 is a view showing a state in which a body, a reinforcing member and a chassis in the minicar are seen from a back face according to the present embodiment.

Fig. 3 is a view showing an example of a structure for openably attaching a door to a body according to the present embodiment .

[Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention]

[0012] An embodiment according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is an exploded view showing an example of a structure of a car type model (a minicar) according to the present embodiment. Moreover, Fig. 2 is a view showing a state in which a body 10, a reinforcing member 20 and a chassis 30 in a minicar are seen from a back face according to the present embodiment.

[0013]

As shown in Fig. 1, the minicar according to the present embodiment includes the body 10 formed of a resin, the reinforcing member 20 formed of a metal, and the chassis 30 formed of a resin and is configured to assemble them with a plurality of fixing screws 51 and 52 (an example of a fixing member) . Herein, the chassis 30 is fixed to the reinforcing member 20 with the fixing screw 51, and the reinforcing member 20 is fixed to the body 10 with the fixing screw 52.

[0014]

In other words, a plurality of screw fastening holes 31 and 32 is provided on the chassis 30. In the present embodiment, four screw fastening holes 31 are provided on both of left and right sides at a front side of the chassis 30 and four screw fastening holes 32 are provided on both of left and right sides at a rear side thereof. All of these screw fastening holes 31 and 32 are through holes. [0015]

The chassis 30 has a notch portion 33 on both of the left and right sides at the front side and both of the left and right sides at the rear side. The notch portion 33 is cut inward in a width direction, and four tires are positioned herein.

[0016]

Moreover, the reinforcing member 20 has a plurality of screw fastening holes 21 and 22 corresponding to the screw fastening holes 31 and 32 provided in the chassis 30, respectively. In other words, four screw fastening holes 21 are provided on both of left and right sides at a front side of the reinforcing member 20 and four screw fastening holes 22 are provided on both of left and right sides at a rear side thereof. Although the screw fastening holes 21 on the front side are through holes, the screw fastening hole 22 at the rear side is a stop hole. Consequently, the chassis 30 is fixed to the reinforcing member 20 with the fixing screws 51.

[0017]

Referring to a length in a longitudinal direction, the reinforcing member 20 is configured to have such a size as to include a range from a region on a front side in which a front tire 41 is present to a region on a rear side in which a rear tire 42 is present. Referring to a width in a transverse direction, moreover, the reinforcing member 20 is configured to have such a size as to include a range from a region in which a tire on a left side is present to a region in which a tire on a right side is present. The reinforcing member 20 is configured to take such a shape as to have a plurality of (four in a four-wheeled vehicle) wheel houses 23 and 24 for storing the front tire 41 and the rear tire 42, respectively.

[0018]

By taking the shape, the reinforcing member 20 closes an almost whole region of a lower surface opening part of the body 10 when it is attached to the body 10. Herein, the reinforcing member 20 may have such a size that a surrounding surface comes in contact with an internal surface of the body 10 or does not slightly come in contact therewith. However, the four wheel houses 23 and 24 of the reinforcing member 20 are fitted in cut portions 11 formed on the body 10 along curves of the wheel houses

23 and 24 and thus come in contact with the body 10.

[0019]

In the present embodiment, the four wheel houses 23 and

24 have screw fastening holes 25 and 26 on respective top parts (in the vicinity of vertexes of curves) . In this example, a screw fastening hole 25 is provided on each of the left and right wheel houses 23 for the front tire 41, and a screw fastening hole 26 is provided on each of the left and right wheel houses 24 for the rear tire 42. All of these screw fastening holes 24 and 25 take cylindrical shapes having small heights and are through holes.

[0020]

Moreover, the body 10 has a plurality of screw fastening holes 15 and 16 corresponding to the screw fastening holes 25 and 26 provided in the reinforcing member 20, respectively. In other words, the screw fastening hole 15 is provided in a position where each of the left and right wheel houses 23 for the front tire 41 are stored, and the screw fastening hole 16 is provided in a position where each of the left and right wheel houses 24 for the rear tire 42 is stored. All of these screw fastening holes 15 and 16 are stop holes.

[0021]

Consequently, the reinforcing member 20 has the wheel houses 23 and 24 fitted in the cut portion 11 of the body 10 and is fixed to the body 10 with the fixing screw 52 in the positions of the wheel houses 23 and 24.

[0022]

In the present embodiment, the body 10 and the chassis 30 which are exterior parts of a car are formed of a resin. A fine part of the resin can be processed much more easily than a metal. For this reason, original models of the body 10 and the chassis 30 are mass-produced by a mold, and subsequently, the fine part can easily be processed really to imitate an authentic car by a manual work.

[0023]

In the present embodiment, moreover, the reinforcing member 20 has such a structure as to include a seat housing portion 27 for accommodating a seat (not shown) and a dashboard installing portion 28 for installing a dashboard (not shown) . By attaching a seat and a dashboard which are formed of a resin to the seat housing portion 27 and the dashboard installing portion 28, for example, it is also possible to really reproduce interior decors of the car in order to intimate an authentic car .

[0024]

In the present embodiment, furthermore, left and right doors 12 are openably attached to the body 10. Fig. 3 is a view showing an example of a structure for openably attaching the door 12 to the body 10. As shown in Fig. 3, in the present embodiment, the door 12 is openably attached to the body 10 with a pair of hinges 13 provided on the body 10 side and the door 12 side. In addition to the left and right doors 12, a back door of a hatchback, a hood or the like may be openably attached to the body 10.

[0025]

As described above, in the present embodiment, the reinforcing member 20 formed of a metal is fixed to the body 10 formed of a resin. Therefore, it is possible to cause the body 10 to be flexed with difficulty by the reinforcing member 20 formed of a metal even through the body 10 is molded by a resin in order to easily enable processing of a fine part.

[0026]

In the present embodiment, particularly, the reinforcing member 20 is configured to take such a shape as to include the four wheel houses 23 and 24, and the wheel houses 23 and 24 are fitted in the cut portions 11 of the body 10. Furthermore, the reinforcing member 20 is fixed to the body 10 with the fixing screws 52 in the positions of the wheel houses 23 and 24. Consequently, it is possible to employ a structure in which the body 10 formed of a resin is flexed with extreme difficulty.

[0027]

In the case in which an opening/closing portion such as the door 12 is attached with the hinges 13 to the body 10 that is formed of a resin and is apt to be flexed without any reinforcement as shown in Fig. 3, consequently, it is possible to exhibit opening/closing stability by avoiding a state in which the door 12 is not closed properly due to the flexure of the body 10. Moreover, the reinforcing member 20 is made of a metal and is formed to be comparatively large in order to close an almost whole region of the lower surface opening part of the body 10. For this reason, it is also possible to exhibit a massive feeling when a user holds the car type model in a hand.

[0028]

Although the description has been given to the example in which the reinforcing member 20 is fixed to the body 10 with the fixing screws 52 in the wheel house 23 and 24 portions in the embodiment, the present invention is not restricted thereto For example, the reinforcing member 20 may be fixed to the body 10 with screwing in portions other than the wheel houses 23 and 24. In this case, the reinforcing member 20 is not necessarily configured to take such a shape as to have the wheel houses 23 and 24.

[0029]

For example, the reinforcing member 20 can also be configured by a flat plate formed of a metal. However, the reinforcing member 20 is preferably configured to take such a shape as to have the wheel houses 23 and 24 and thus fixed to the body 10 in the wheel house 23 and 24 portions in that it is possible to have a structure in which the body 10 and the reinforcing member 20 come in contact with each other in a larger area and the body 10 is flexed with more difficulty.

[0030]

In addition to the reinforcing member 20 (corresponding to a first reinforcing member) having the wheel houses 23 and 24, it is also possible to further include a second reinforcing member configured to take a shape along an internal surface of a roof of the body 10. Consequently, the lower surface side of the body 10 (the chassis 30 side) can be mainly reinforced by the first reinforcing member 20 and the upper surface side of the body 10 can be mainly reinforced by the second reinforcing member so that the body 10 can be flexed with more difficulty.

[0031]

Although the description has been given to the example in which the chassis 30 is formed of a resin in the embodiment, moreover, the present invention is not restricted thereto. For example, the chassis 30 may be formed of a metal to exhibit a massive feeling more greatly. As an ornamental minicar, a fine part at the back side of the chassis 30 is also processed to intimate an authentic car in some cases. In consideration of easiness of the processing, therefore, it is preferable that the chassis 30 should be formed of a resin. Depending on a type of a car, however, the back side of the chassis of the authentic car does not have a very complicated structure and the chassis 30 can be manufactured by simple processing in some cases. In the case of this type of a car, the chassis 30 can be formed of a metal.

[0032]

In addition, the embodiment is only illustrative for concreteness to carry out the present invention and the technical scope of the present invention should not be thereby construed to be restrictive. In other words, the present invention can be carried out in various configurations without departing from the gist or main features thereof.

[Explanation of Designation]

[0033]

10 body

11 cut in which wheel house is accommodated

12 door

20 reinforcing member

21, 22 screw fastening hole

23, 24 wheel house

25, 26 screw fastening hole

27 seat housing portion

28 dashboard installing portion

30 chassis

31, 32 screw fastening hole

33 cut in which tire is accommodated