Toy

Abstract

A toy having: a main body portion, the main body portion defining a receiving area; a member configured to be received within the receiving area; a mechanism for releasably securing the member in the receiving area, wherein the mechanism has a pair of arm members each having a protrusion for releasably engaging a detent on the member.

1 . A toy, comprising:
 a main body portion having a receiving area;   a member configured to be received within the receiving area, the member having a first side, a second side, a first detent on the first side, and a second detent on the second side; and   a mechanism that releasably secures the member in the receiving area, wherein the mechanism has a pair of arm members, each arm member having a protrusion for releasably engaging one of the detents on the member.   
     
     
         2 . The toy as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the member is a figure having a weighted bottom with a pair of hemispherical portions rotatably mounted to the weighted bottom. 
     
     
         3 . The toy as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the receiving area is located at a forward end of the main body portion, and the receiving area is open to the forward end and a bottom of the main body portion. 
     
     
         4 . The toy as recited in  claim 3 , wherein the arm members are spring biased into first positions in which its protrusion is located within the receiving area. 
     
     
         5 . The toy as recited in  claim 4 , wherein the mechanism includes a plunger that moves between a first position and a second position, the plunger pushing the member out of the receiving area when the plunger is in its second position. 
     
     
         6 . The toy as in  claim 5 , wherein the mechanism includes an actuation member movably mounted to the main body portion, the actuation member being coupled to the arm members and the plunger such that movement of the actuation member in a first direction causes the arm members to move from their first positions to their second positions and cause the plunger to move from its first position to its second position. 
     
     
         7 . The toy as recited in  claim 6 , wherein the main body portion includes a canopy pivotally mounted thereto, and the canopy is configured to cover the receiving area when the member is received therein. 
     
     
         8 . The toy as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the mechanism further comprises a plunger configured to move between a first position and a second position, wherein the plunger pushes the member out of the receiving area when the plunger is in the second position. 
     
     
         9 . The toy as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the mechanism further comprises an actuation member movably mounted to the main body portion, the actuation member being coupled to the pair of arm members such that movement of the actuation member in a first direction will cause the pair of arm members to move from the first position to the second position. 
     
     
         10 . The toy as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the main body portion further comprises a canopy pivotally mounted thereto, wherein the canopy is configured to cover the receiving area when the member is received therein. 
     
     
         11 . The toy as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the pair of arm members are spring biased into the first position. 
     
     
         12 . The toy as recited in  claim 11 , wherein the mechanism further comprises a plunger configured for movement between a first position and a second position, wherein the plunger is spring biased into the first position and the plunger moves the member out of the receiving area when it is in the second position. 
     
     
         13 . The toy as recited in  claim 12 , wherein the member is a figure having a weighted bottom with a pair of hemispherical portions rotatably mounted to the weighted bottom, wherein the pair of members are configured to allow the figure to move upon a surface and each of the pair of members further comprise the detent configured for releasably engaging the protrusion. 
     
     
         14 . The toy as in  claim 13 , wherein the receiving area is located at a forward end of the main body portion and the receiving area is open to the forward end and a bottom of the main body portion. 
     
     
         15 . The toy as in  claim 1 , wherein the member is a figure having a weighted bottom with a pair of curved members rotatably mounted to the weighted bottom, wherein the pair of members are configured to allow the figure to move upon a surface and each of the pair of members further comprise the detent configured for releasably engaging the protrusion. 
     
     
         16 . In combination, a toy and a figure configured for use with the toy, the toy comprising:
 a main body portion defining a receiving area;   a mechanism for releasably securing the figure in the receiving area with a pair of arm members each having a protrusion for releasably engaging a detent on the figure;   a plunger for pushing the figure out of the receiving area; and   an actuator for moving the pair of arm members and the plunger so that the figure can be pushed out of the receiving area; and   wherein the figure has a weighted bottom with a pair of members rotatably mounted to the weighted bottom of the figure so that the figure can move along a surface when it is pushed out of the receiving area.   
     
     
         17 . The combination as in  claim 16 , wherein the weighted bottom and the pair of members of the figure are configured to have a curved surface so that the figure can also wobble upon the surface. 
     
     
         18 . The combination as in  claim 16 , wherein the pair of arm members and the plunger are spring biased into a first position. 
     
     
         19 . The combination as in  claim 16 , wherein the toy further comprises a canopy pivotally mounted to the main body portion proximate to the receiving area. 
     
     
         20 . A method for releasably retaining a figure in a toy, comprising:
 biasing a pair of arm members into a first position, wherein each of the pair of arm members have a protrusion configured to be received within a detent of the figure when it is received within a receiving area of the toy;   biasing a plunger into a first position;   moving the plunger to a second position via actuation of an actuation member, wherein the plunger pushes the figure out of the receiving area when it is in the second position; and   wherein the figure has a weighted bottom with a pair of members rotatably mounted to the weighted bottom of the figure so that the figure can slide upon a surface when it is pushed out of the receiving area.