US1392727A - Mechanical toy - Google Patents

Description

C. L. WELSH.

MECHANICAL TOY.

APPLICATION FILED Aue.25. 1920.

1,392,727.. A l A Patented Oct. 4, 1921 2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

. INVENToR. j @gde L'. wels/L C. L. WELSH.

MECHANICAL TOY. APPLICATION FILED Aue.25. 1920.

Patented Oct. 4, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

sraes VCLYDE L. WELSH, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

MECHANICAL TOY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patenten oet. i., 192i.

Application filed August 25, 1920. Serial No. 405,939.

and useful improvements in Mechanical Toys, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to mechanical toys and more especially to automatic toys operated by gravity.

One of the main objects is to provide a mechanical toy of simple construction devoid of ropes, pulleys and other mechanical elements which are easily put out of working order by little children for whom this toy is primarily intended. Another object is to produce a toy in which the weight of Imarbles is used to provide the necessary operating power.

A further object is to construct a toy of this character with the least number of simple parts thereby reducing the cost of manufacture as compared with toys of the same character now on the market.

In the drawings, which represent the preferred construction of the invention, and which form part of this specification:

Figure l represents a side elevation of the toy with the balancing beam shown in its two extreme positions.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the device.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the marblebucket positioned at the forward end of the balancing beam.

Fig. 4 is a representation of the blank stamping required for forming themarblcbucket out of one piece of material; the

bending lines being shown in dot and dash lines.

Fig. 5 is a front elevationV showing the preferred method of assembling the upper structure of the toy with its base.

Fig. 6 is a side elevation corresponding to Fig.

Fig. 7 is a section taken on line 7-7 in Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a pla-n view of a snap-ring of concavo-conveX section for securing a bottom of thin material under the base of the toy.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged section taken on line 5)-9 Fig. 2, showing the method of securing a bottom to the underside of the base frame by means of the snap-ring.

Fig. l0 is a cross section through balancing-beam taken on line 10-10, Fig. 1.

Referring more in detail to the drawings, the preferred construction of this toy consists of a base l a standard 2 which carries at its upper end a runway 3. These two members are held rigidly together by the brace 4.

The standard 2, runway 3, and brace -l are made of sheet metal having' a channel shaped cross section which insures great. stiffness with a minimum of weight, A

balancing-beam 5, made of one single strip.

of metal is pivotally supported, intermediate its ends on standard 2 and carries at the forward or open end ay bucket member 6 and at its rear end a suitable balancing weight '7.

Base l is preferably made of heavy wire la bent into the shape of an open circle Ahaving its ends 8 and 9 bent upwardly at right angles to the base` for the purpose of securing the upper structure to thtJ base. A bottom plate 10 provided with a peripheral ledge l0a is secured on the under side of frame l by means of an open snap-ring 11 of concave-convex cross section which is snapped around base wire l after the bottom plate l0 has been applied, thus securely holding the latter in position. The object of said bottom plate is primarily to prevent the marring of polished furniture by the repeated striking of the bucket 6 and marbles l2, should thel toy be operated on such furniture. Moreover the top side of the bottom plate may be approprinted for advertising matter or may have printed upon itself numbered zones upon which the marbles will roll after leaving the bucket 6; the sum total of the numbers for a given quantity of marbles forming the basis of a game in combination with the operation of the device as a toy proper.

For the purpose of reducing the necessary packing and storage space required by the toy, the base l is detachably secured to the upper structure of the toy by inserting the tip-turned wirer ends 8 and 9 into special grooves formed in clip 13 secured at the foot of standard 2 by means of lugs 14- and 15 bent. over the web of the standard.

The upper end of standard 2 has part of its web cut away to form a fork-like support for runway 3. This runway is sufciently inclined to enable the marbles to roll by gravity toward its forward or lower end, which is provided, near the edge, with a key-hole shaped aperture 1G the diameter of which is somewhat smaller than that of the smallest marbles to be used. Upon dropping in this aperture, the foremost marble will be stopped, thereby also arresting the motion of the marbles following it. The runway may be extended beyond the right hand side of standard 2 for the purpose of accommodating a greater number of marbles thus lengthening the duration of the automatic performance of the toy.

. Brace 4 which connects the lower end of standard 2 with the forward end of runway 3,'has part of the flanges cut away at the lower end and the web is extended so as to be secured by the cleat 13 and lugs 414 and 15, the web of the brace and standard being provided with a suitable oblong aperture 16 to accommodate lug 14. The bal-k V`ancing-beam 5 which is made of a bent strip of metal is preferably stiffened atits forwardportion' by depressed ribs 5a thus reducing the lateral vibrations which might interfere with the correct operation of the toy. This beam is suitably fulcrumed at point 17 'and is supported on the standard `by a wire pin 18 passing through these members.

The bucket 6 ispreferably formed of a v'single `piece of sheet metal and comprises a bottom 19, two sides 20, a discharge spout 21 suitably inclined iso Vas to hold a marble in the bucket during its downward motion while also allowing said marble to roll out of the bucket .when the latter has reached its lowermost position. Vithin the bottom 19 a depending tongue 22 is punched out and bent upwardly in such a manner as to reach within and at the rear end of aperture 16 in runway 3. The smaller lugs or tongues 23 are provided for securing the bucket to the balancing-beam by being folded over the sides of the latter.

As willbe seen in the drawings, a similar l method is used generally wherever members are to be permanently secured together, this being the simplest and most usual means employed in devices of this character. The oounterweight 7 isl so proportioned that the rear end will over-balance the forward end of the beam when the bucket is empty; however whenV the llatter has received a marble the condition will be reversed, and the bucket will be forced downwardly. The counterweight 7 may of course be made to represent any kind of comical human or animal f .figure to increase the attractiveness ofthe toy `to children.

Having thus detailed the construction of the various members, the operation ofthe toy will be easily understood and is as follows :e

The toy being placed upon a level surface, the runway 3 is filled with marbles. The latter are prevented from rolling out by the tongue 22 protruding through the aperture 16. A slight downward stroke is now given to the bucket thereby disengaging the tongue and enabling the first marble to rest in the circular part of aperture 16. The return upward motion of the bucket will cause the tongue to strike'the first marble sufficiently hard to drive it out'of hole 16 and causeit to roll into the bucket where it is arrested by spout 21. The added weight of the marble will cause the bucket end of the beam to swing downward until it strikes the bottom 10 at 'which 'time the marble will leave-the bucketv thereby allowing the bucket to move upV again. This operation will continue automatically as long asv marbles are'fed into the runway, and the rapidity of the oscillations of the balancing beam will be increased Vby using heavier marbles. A

As will be noted the marbles will be prevented from scattering promiscuously by the heavy base wire 1EL which acts as a border within which the marbles are confined fin their movements. Y

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings it should be apparent that I have provided a toyV of simple construction and of very positive operation. 1

It is ofcourse to be understood that the parts may be constructed in various other manners than shown and the parts associated differently; so therefore I do not desire to be limited inV any manner exceptV as set forth in the claims hereunto appended.

That I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is :-V

1. In a toy of thecharacter described, the

combination of a base; a standard detachably connected to said base; an inclined runway; a plurality of marbles carried in said runway; a keyholev shaped aperture, of smaller size than the dimension of said marbles, provided adjacent the lower end Y of said runway; a balancing-beam pivotallv supported intermediate its ends by said standard; `a bucket secured at the forward end of said -beam;a depending tongue bent upwardly in the bottom of saidV bucket for Aprotrusion throughxthe aperture in said run- 'CLYD'E' L. WELSH.

Images