The cushy fire truck (figure 1) is a children’s toy. The cushy fire truck evolved from a combination of a toy fire truck that plays a siren sound and a stuffed toy truck that is a safe toy for toddlers, which did not play any sounds and did not roll on its wheels. The cushy fire truck is approximately 4.5” long, 3.5” wide, and 3” high. The cushy fire truck consists of mainly two outer materials, rubber and plastic, in addition to a variety of solid-state internal materials. The cushy fire truck consists of four visible parts: upper body, speaker window, wheels, and battery cover.
Figure
1
source: Toys “R” Us, Inc. 2003. Hasbro: Soft Rumblin: Cushy Fire Truck. 13 July.
Internet: http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00008O101.01.MZZZZZZZ.jpg.
The upper body, made of soft rubber, represents the top section of the cushy fire truck. The upper body provides a soft area to handle the cushy fire truck. The upper body also actuates the siren sound through the soft upper body material by depressing any of the upper body area. The upper body’s material gives a safe surface for children to play with the cushy fire truck. The upper body has no hard or sharp edges. The upper body also provides a cushiony landing surface to protect the cushy fire truck from breaking.
The speaker window sends a siren sound through a few small holes, which allow sound to travel outside of the cushy fire truck’s underside that houses the speaker unit. The speaker window plays the siren sound for only a 10 second period. The speaker window transfers the siren volume directly, with no volume adjustment.
The wheels, made of plastic and mounted on steel axles, carry the cushy
fire truck assembly and provide a smooth rolling agent, which allows the cushy
fire truck to roll on flat surfaces.
The wheels spin freely around the axles. The wheels are fixed on the axles and cannot be removed, which
provides a safety feature.
The battery cover gives access to the cushy fire truck’s battery after
removing a small screw that holds the battery cover in place. The battery cover keeps the battery in place
to provide power to the small solid-state sound player, located inside the main
body, which creates a real-life siren sound that resembles a fire engine truck
on its way to the rescue.
Farouk Abushaban
English 200 Technical
Communication
Summer 2003
