US3822881A - See-saw with foot operated linkage - Google Patents

Abstract

A child''s see-saw has a rocking bar with a single seat near one of its ends and its pivot point near the other end. The rocking bar is connected by a linkage to a rocking lever provided with a foot-rest beneath the seat so that a child can rock itself on the see-saw by pushing down on the foot rest to raise the seat and relaxing foot pressure to lower the seat. An extension may by provided carrying a second seat so that two children may operate the see-saw in the normal way.

Description

llnited States Patent [191 Douglass et a1. v

[11.1 3 3,822,881 1 1 July 9, 1974 SEE-SAW WITH FOOT OPERATED LINKAGE Inventors: Walter Douglass, 3O Groovewood Close, Chorleywood; Paul John Murgatroyd, Gullbrook, Boxmore, Hemel Hempstead, both of England Filed: Oct. 3, 1972 Appl. No.: 294,592

Foreign Application Priority Data Oct. 7, 1971 Great Britain 46620/71 US. Cl. 272/54, 272/55 1m. (:1 A63g 11/00 Field of Search 272/55, 54, 56, 79 R, 30,

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS,

2/1886 Flach 272/54 3/1910 Miller et al. 272/87 X 2,107,448 2/1938 Marlowe 272/55 X 2,145,940 2/1939 Marlowe 272/53.1 X

2,398,122 4/1946 Souza 272/55 X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 761 9/1899 Great Britain 272/52 312,934 11/1933 Italy 272/79 R Primary Examiner-Anton O. Oechsle Assistant Examiner-Am0ld W. Kramer Attorney, Agent, or FirmWenderoth, Lind & Ponack [57] ABSTRACT A childs see-saw has a rocking bar with a single seat near one of its ends and its pivot point near the other end. The rocking bar is connected by a linkage to a rocking lever provided with a foot-rest beneath the seat so that a child can rock itself on the see-saw by pushing down on the foot rest to raise the seat and relaxing foot pressure to lower the seat. An extension may by provided carrying a second seat so that two children may operate the see-saw in the normal way.

5 Claims, 1 Drawing Figure I SEE-SAW WITH FOOT OPERATED LINKAGE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to see-saws of the kind used primarily for childrens amusement.

Conventional childrens see-saws are commonly in .the form of a rocking bar centrally pivoted on a sup- SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of the present invention is to provide a see-saw which is capable of operation by only one child while still providing pleasurable sensations derived from a conventional see-saw in use by two children.

A see-saw in accordance with the invention comprises a base supporting a rocking bar on a horizontal pivot, a seat on the rocking bar remote from the pivot, a foot rest mounted on the base beneath the bar and movable towards and away from the bar and connected thereto by a linkage in such manner that downward movement of the foot rest produces an upward movement of the seat and vice versa.

In a preferred construction of the invention the foot rest is supported by a reciprocatory crank structure pivotally mounted on the base and pivotally attached to one end of a connecting link which is also pivotally attached at its other end to a strut extending downwardly from the rocking bar and rotatable therewith about the axis of rotation of the rocking bar.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING For a clearer understanding of the invention one preferred embodiment will now be described in more detail by way of example with reference to the accompanying perspective drawing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In this embodiment a see-saw for one child is arranged so that two children can use it if required.

The see-saw comprises a base 1 in the form of an H- frame carrying an upright stanchion 2. A rocking bar 3 is pivoted on the upper end of the stanchion for movement in a vertical plane. The rocking bar carries a seat 4 at one end remote from its pivot point and is bent downwardly under the seat to form a stop member 15 terminating in a resilient buffer to limit the downward movement of the seat when the bar 3 is rocked. Between the pivot point and the other end of the bar 3 a strut 5 extends downwardly from the bar and is pivotally connected to one end of a link 6, to the other end of which is pivoted a reciprocatable crank 7 pivotally mountedon the frame I. An arm 8 rigidly attached to the crank terminates in a foot rest 9. A handlebar 10 is mounted on the bar 3 in front of the seat 4.

To use the see-saw a child takes its place on the seat 4 grasping the handle bar 10 and places its feet on the foot rest 9. Pressure on the foot rest rocks the crank 7 counter-clockwise about its pivot (as shown in the a return upward movement of the seat or the downward movement of the seat is arrested by contact of the buffer at the end of the member 5 with the frame.

If required the amount of rotary movement of the rocking bar can be adjusted by selecting any one of a series of appropriate holes 5a in the strut 5 to receive a pivot pin 5b for the connecting link 6, and the height of the foot rest above the ground when the rocking bar is in its lowest position can also be adjusted by providing a series of selectable holes 6a in the end of the connecting link 6 to receive a pin 5b pivotally connecting it with the strut.

In order to make the see-saw suitable for use with two children, the end of the rocking bar 3 extending on the opposite side of its pivot shaft to the seat 4 is constructed to form a plug and socket or other convenient connection for an extension bar 11 which is also provided with a seat 12 and a downturned end terminating in a buffer identical with the rocking bar and forming a stop member 13. A second handlebar I4 is mounted on the bar 11. When two children are using the see-saw the extension bar is connected to the rocking bar so that two seats are provided equidistant from the pivot shaft as in a conventional see-saw. The child on the seat fitted to the rocking bar may, if wished, control the movement of both by employing the foot board to produce the rocking action, the second child merely acting as a passenger.

A see-saw in accordance with the invention is also suitable for use as an exercising device for adults. Such a device may be of a construction basically similar to the above-described embodiment with a modification comprising the replacement of the fixed handlebar by a handlebar pivotally mounted on the rocking bar and connected by a straight pivoted link to the strut or an upward extension thereof arranged so that movements of the handlebar to and from a person sitting on the seat coincides with downward and upward movements respectively of the foot rest. By such means a person can exercise both arms and legs. An adjustable friction device is incorporated. in the handlebar pivot so that the effort involved in operating the see-saw can be varied.

We claim:

1. A see-saw comprising a base supporting a rocking bar on a horizontal pivot;

a seat on said rocking bar remote from said pivot;

a handlebar fixed to said rocking bar between said seat and said pivot;

a foot rest mounted on said base beneath said seat and movable towards and away from said bar; and linkage means connected to said bar for, upon downward movement of said foot rest, producing rotation of said bar about said pivot to cause upward movement of said seat and vice versa.

2. A see-saw according to claim 1, wherein said linkage means comprises a reciprocatory crank attached to said foot rest and pivoted on the base and pivotally atable by adjustment of the position of one of the pivots.

5. A see-saw according to claim 1 further comprising an extension bar detachably mounted on the rocking bar to form a continuation thereof, a seat being attached to the extension bar equidistant with the rocking bar seat from the rocking bar pivot.

Claims (5)

1. A see-saw comprising a base supporting a rocking bar on a horizontal pivot; a seat on said rocking bar remote from said pivot; a handlebar fixed to said rocking bar between said seat and said pivot; a foot rest mounted on said base beneath said seat and movable towards and away from said bar; and linkage means connected to said bar for, upon downward movement of said foot rest, producing rotation of said bar about said pivot to cause upward movement of said seat and vice versa.

2. A see-saw according to claim 1, wherein said linkage means comprises a reciprocatory crank attached to said foot rest and pivoted on the base and pivotally attached to one end of a connecting link which is also pivotally attached at its other end to a strut extending from the rocking bar and rotatable therewith about the axis of rotation of the rocking bar.

3. A see-saw according to claim 2 wherein the position on the strut of the pivot axis for the link is adjustable.

4. A see-saw according to claim 2 wherein the effective length of the link betwEen its pivots thereof is variable by adjustment of the position of one of the pivots.

5. A see-saw according to claim 1 further comprising an extension bar detachably mounted on the rocking bar to form a continuation thereof, a seat being attached to the extension bar equidistant with the rocking bar seat from the rocking bar pivot.

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