Nov. 28, 1961 c. PEARSON, JR 3,010,718
TOY
Filed Dec. 19, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet l Nov. 28, 1961 c. PEARSON, JR
TOY
3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 19, 1958 Nov. 28, 1961 c. PEARSON, JR 3,010,718
TOY
Filed Dec. 19, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 United States Patent ()fi ice 3,010,7 l8 Patented Nov. 28, 1 961 Filed Dec. 19, 1958, Ser. No. 781,536 13 Claims. (Ci. 2721) The present invention relates generally to a toy, and particularly to a toy which is operable to produce audible and visual effects at the command of the operator of the toy.
An object of the present invention is to provide a toy having an operating mechanism which selectively produces audible and visual efiects. Another object isthe provision of a toy jet plane which is adapted to be maneuvered by a child. Still another object is the provision of a toy having mechanism for selectively producing a noise, ejecting objects and reciprocating an external member. A further object of the invention is the provision of a toy of the type described which can be economically manufactured and which is durable in use.
Further objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent by reference to the following description and the accompanying drawings.
In the drawings:
FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a toy embodying various features of the invention;
FIGURE 2 is a plan view of the toy shown in FIG- URE l with portions broken away to show the internal operating mechanism;
FIGURE 3 is an end view of the toy shown in FIG-URE 1, looking at it from the rear end away from the operator of the toy;
FIGURE 4 is a side View of the toy shown in FIG-URE 1;
FIGURE 5 is an enlarged, sectional view taken along line 55 of FIGURE 2;
FIGURE 6 is an enlarged, sectional view taken along i line 6-6 of FIGURE 2;
FIGURE 7 is an enlarged, fragmentary sectional view taken along line 7--7 of FIGURE 2;
FIGURE 8 is an enlarged, fragmentary view, partially in section, taken through the control panel shown in FIGURE 3;
FIGURE 9 is a fragmentary view taken along line 99 of FIGURE 8;
FIGURE 10 is a schematic circuit diagram of the toy shown in FIGURES 1 through 9;
FIGURE 11 is a fragmentary view taken along line 1111 of FIGURE 7; and
FIGURE 12 is an enlarged, fragmentary view taken along line 12-12 of FIGURE 2.
The operating mechanism of the present invention is particularly designed to be utilized in a housing which simulates a jet plane. The cockpit of the jet plane is enlarged and the other parts of the jet plane are propor tioned so that an operator of the toy, by balancing the jet plane on a pair of handles attached thereto, may pretend that he is a jet pilot operating his jet plane through desired flight patterns, such as dog fights, strafings, etc. To enhance the simulation, the operating mechanism within the housing permits the operator to selectively produce a noise simulating the whine of a jet engine, reciprocate a simulated cannon in the nose of the jet plane while producing a. noise simulating the firing of the cannon, and fire simulated rockets from rocket launchers on the wings of the jet plane.
More specifically, thehousing 10 shown in the drawings is a fanciful representation of a flying wing type jet plane, which a child can maneuver as he desires. Thehousing 10, which may be constructed of plastic material and in two mating pieces, includes a pair of interconnectedwings 12 and an exaggerated forward wall of acockpit 13 disposed on thewings 12. The cockpit comprises acontrol panel 14 disposed on the upper surface of thewings 12 adjacent the trailing edges thereof, thecontrol panel 14 having an arcuate upper edge and being slanted forwardly. To blend thecontrol panel 14 into thewings 12, thehousing 10 is provided with a pottion 16, arcuate in transverse cross section, which gradually rises from a point behind theapex 18 of thewings 12 to the upper edge of thecontrol panel 14. An arouate shaped, transparent Windshield 20, which extends upwardly and rearwardly from the arcuate portion 16 adjacent the upper edge of thecontrol panel 14, may be provided to enhance the simulation of a cockpit of a jet plane. Agun sight 22 may also be attached to the top of the arcuate portion 16. Furthermore, a simulated housing for a fuel tank orjet turbine 24 may be provided at the tip of each wing12.
Projecting forwardly from theapex 18 of thewings 12 is a simulatedcannon 26, and from the forward edges of thewings 12, on either side of thecannon 26, is a simulatedrocket launcher 28 and 29. To enable the operator to manuever the housing 10 a pair ofhandles 30 and 31 are provided which extend downwardly from the lower surface of thewings 12, adjacent the trailing edges thereof. Thehandles 30 and 31 are located in such a position as to balance thehousing 10. In the illustrated embodiment thehandles 30 and 31 are located slightly to the outside of therocket launchers 28 and 29, respectively.
Thehousing 10 is preferably proportioned so that the tips of thewings 12 extend beyond the shoulders of a child, thecockpit 13 is of sufiicient size to provide a face shield for the child, and thehandles 30 and 31 are positioned approximately at the sides of the body of the child. In this way, by gripping thehandles 30 and 31, the child may pretend that he is in the cockpit of a jet plane which he can maneuver as desired.
The simulated whine of the engine of a jet plane is produced by a noise producing means 32 disposed inside in thehousing 10 on abase plate 34, thebase plate 34 being supported above the bottom of the housing by means such as a plurality of vertically disposedsupport pins 36. As shovm particularly in FIGURE 6, the noise producing means 32 includes an inverted L-shaped reed orvibrator 38, the outer end of which rides upon the teeth of an intermediate spur gear 40, the other end being suitably mounted to thebase plate 34. Theshaft 42 of thespur gear 46 is journaled in an aperture (not shown) in an upstanding leg 44 of the U-shapedbracket 46, which is mounted to thebase plate 34 generally along the center line between thewings 12. The spur gear 49 is engaged by a pinion gear 48 (FIG. 6) attached to the end of theshaft 50 of anelectric motor 52 which is mounted to the inner surface of the otherupstanding leg 54 of thebracket 46, themotor shaft 50 extending through an aperture (not shown) in the first mentioned upstanding leg 44 of thebracket 46. Rotation of themotor 52 causes the spur gear 40 to rotate which, in turn, oscillates the vibrator 3-8, thus producing an audible sound resembling the whine of a jet engine.
Themotor 52 is actuated by the closing ofarmotor switch 56, the switch being closed by the depression of a horizontally extendingtrigger pin 58 which is guided by an aperture in the upper portion of the right hand handle 31 (FIG. 7). Themotor switch 56, which may be normally open, spring contact type switch, as shown in FIG. 11, is mounted to the underside of the base plate 3-4 in position to be closed by the forward movement of thetrigger pin 58.
Electric power for themotor 52 is provided by a pair ofdry cell batteries 62 and 64, connected in series, which switch 82 mounted on thecontrol panel 14.
' 34 by abracket 107 or the like, (FIG. 2).
are carried intubular containers 66 and 68 respectively, that extend inwardly from the simulatedcontrol panel 14, as shown in FIG. 8. Thebatteries 62 and 64 are inserted into thecontainers 66 and 68 in alternate directions, and are connected in series by a common spring cont-act 70 attached to aremovable portion 72 of thecontrol panel 14. Thespring contact 70 urges the other end of the batteries .62 and 64 against a pair of button contacts 74 and 76, respectively, extending through the closed endsof thecylindrical containers 66 and 68.
V In the illustrated embodiment, the button contact 74 on the left-hand container 66 is connected electrically .through aconductor 78 to the motor -2, and the button contact 76 on the right-hand container 68 is connected electrically through aconductor 80 to a key operated Theswitch 82, in turn, is connected through aconductor 84 to themotor switch 56, themotor switch 56 being connected by aconductor 86 to themotor 52.
The key operatedswitch 82 as shown particularly in FIGS. 8 and 9, includes acylindrical insert 88, a reduced diameter portion (not shown) of which is journaled in a suitable aperture (not-shown) in thecontrol panel 14, thecylindrical insert 88 having a slot 99 therein which is adapted to receive akey 92. Mounted on the rear of thecontrol panel 14 is the normally open, spring contacttype key switch 82, which is in such a relationship to thekey 92 that, when thekey 92 is vertical, theswitch 82 is open and, when thekey 92 is in a horizontal position, theswitch 82 is closed. Since the key operatedswitch 82 and themotor switch 56 are in series, both switches must be closed to actuate themotor 52.
Themotor 52 is also utilized to reciprocate the simulatedcannon 26 in theapex 18 of thehousing 10, and to produce an explosive sound to thereby simulate the firing of thecannon 26. Thecannon 26 includes aninner member 94 having acylindrical shank 96 which is guided for axial movement by a tubularouter member 98, theouter member 98 being attached to theapex 18 of thehousing 10.
When it is desired to reciprocate the cannon 2-6, the operator of the toy pushes a forwardly extendingtrigger pin 100, which is guided by anaperture 102 in the upper portion of the left-hand handle 30. The inner end of thetrigger pin 109 is connected to a downwardly extending ear 104 of an L-shapedslide 106, theslide 106 being guided for forward movement on the base plate Theslide 106 is biased in a rearward direction by acoil spring 110 disposed in an enlarged portion 111 of theaperture 102 in co-axial relationship with the trigger pin 180, thespring 110 bearing upon adisc 114 which is fixedly attached to thetrigger pin 100 near its rearward end. The forward end of theslide 106 is provided witha'cam surface 108 which, when theslide 106 is moved forwardly, moves under a generally horizontally extendingarm 113 of abell crank 112, (FIG. 12), the bell crank 112 being pivotally mounted to thebase plate 34 by a suitable means. Theupper arm 114 of the bell crank 112 bears upon the end of aneccentric shaft 116 which is journaled in apertures (not shown) in theupstanding legs 44 and 54 of theU-shaped bracket 46 forwardly of the intermediate spur gear 40. Theeccentric shaft 116 is biased so as to oppose the transverse movement caused by the rotationof the bell crank 112 by aleaf spring 118 bearing on the opposite end of theshaft 116, theleaf spring 118 being suitably mounted to thebase plate 34.
When the bell crank 112 is rotated by theslide 106, theeccentric shaft 116 is moved transversely and aspur gear 120 fixedly mounted to theshaft 116 adjacent the end upon which the bell crank 112 bears, engages a pinion gear 122 fixedly mounted to theshaft 42 of the intermediate spur gear 40. Thus, if the intermediate spur gear 40 is being rotated by themotor 52, theeccentric shaft 116 is rotated, thereby reciprocating theinner member 94 of thecannon 26, the inner end of which is linked to the eccentric shaft by a connectingrod 124. The connectingrod 124 is provided with aneye 126 at its rearward end which is rotatablyrnounted to the eccentric portion of theeccentric shaft 116, and ahook portion 128 at its forward end which is inserted into a transversely extendingaperture 129 in the rearward end of theinner member 94 of thecannon 26.
To produce the noise simulating the firing of the cannon, a reed orvibrator 130 is disposed in such a position as to be actuated by acam portion 131 on theeccentric shaft 116. The vibrator 130' is mounted to the lower wall of thehousing 10, which in cooperation with the other walls of thehousing 10 define a sounding chamber that amplifies the vibration of thevibrator 130;
In the illustrated embodiment, thesimulated rocket launchers 28 and 29 are disposed in forwardly extending relationship, on either side of thecannon 26. Each includes (FIG. 5) a tube orbarrel 132 adapted to receive thecylindrical shank 134 of arocket 136. Thebarrel 132 is in two axially alignedsections 138 and 140, the
forward section 138 being attached to thehousing 10,
and therearward section 140 being attached to the top of thebase plate 34. Apropulsion spring 142 for ejecting therocket 136 from thebarrel 132 is disposed within therearward section 140, the rear end of thepropulsion spring 142 being suitably attached to the rearend closure wall 144 of therear section 140.
Theshank 134 of therocket 136 is of proper diameter to slide freely in thebarrel 132, and is of such a length that when therocket 136 is pushed manually into thebarrel 132 so as to sufficiently compress thepropulsion spring 142, therear head 146 of therocket 136 will reach a position such that the shoulder 148 surrounding the neck 15% of therocket 136 will pass behind the edge of anupstanding latch portion 152 of a generally L- shapedtrigger 154. Thelatch portion 152, which extends upwardly through asuitable slot 156 out in thebase plate 34 and the wall of thebarrel 132, is the forward terminal end of a forwardly extendingarm 158 of the L-shapedtrigger 154. Thetrigger 154 ispivoted to a pair ofears 160 which extend downwardly from thebase plate 34, forwardly of the position of thehandle 30. Thearm 158 of thetrigger 154 is biased upwardly by an urging means such as aleaf spring 162 attached to the bottom of thehousing 19.
The other arm 164 of the trigger 154ex tends downwardly through aslot 166 in thehandle 30 to a convenient position in advance of thehandle 30 so that the operator of therocket launcher 28 may pull thetrigger 154 rearwardly to release therocket 136. The forwardly extendingarm 158 is suitably offset to position thelatch portion 152 in theslot 156 in thebarrel 132 andbase plate 34.
From the above it can be seen that the operator while maneuvering the toy may selectively produce the whine of the jet engine by pushing theright trigger pin 58, simulate the firing of thecannon 26 in the apex of thehousing 10 by pushing theleft trigger pin 100, and launch therockets 136 by pulling the trigger'154 on the associated handles 30 and 31.
Various changes can be made in the above described toy without departing from the scope of the invention. Various of the features of the invention are set forth in the following claims;
I claim:
1. A toy comprising a housing, means .on said housing defining the wings of a jet plane, the tips of which extend beyond the shoulders of the operator of the toy, means on said housing defining a cockpit of a jet plane which is of sufficient size to provide a face shield for the operator, a pair of spaced apart handles extending downwardly from said housing in such positions as to balance the housing whereby the operator may maneuver the toy, means on said housing defining a reciprocating simulated cannon extending from said housing, means on said housing for reciprocating said cannon, means on said housing for producing a sound simulating a firing sound incident to the reciprocation of said cannon, means on said housing for producing a sound simulating the whine of a jet engine, and means on said housing for selectively activating said cannon reciprocating means and said whine producing means.
2. A toy comprising a housing, means on said housing defining the wings of a jet plane, the tips of which extend beyond the shoulders of the operator of the toy, means on said housing defining a cockpit of a jet plane which is of sufficient size to provide a face shield for the operator, a pair of handles extending downwardly from said housing in such positions as to balance the housing whereby the operator may maneuver the toy, a reciprocating simulated cannon extending forwardly from said housing, means on said housing for reciprocating said cannon, means on said housing for producing a sound simulating a firing sound incident to the reciprocation of said cannon, means on said housing for producing a sound simulating the whine of a jet engine, means on said housing defining a rocket launcher extending forwardly from said wings, and means on said housing for selectively actuating said cannon reciprocating means, said whine producing means, and said rocket launcher.
3. A toy comprising a housing, means on said housing defining the wings of a jet plane, the tips of which extend beyond the shoulders of the operator of the toy, means defining a cockpit of a jet plane which is of sufficient size to approximately shield the face of the operator, a pair of spaced apart downwardly extending handles on said housing, a reciprocable simulated cannon extending from Said wings, means carried by said housing for producing a sound simulating the whine of a jet engine, means on said housing for axially reciprocating said cannon, means on said housing for producing a sound simulating a firing noise incident to the reciprocation of said cannon, and means on said handles for selectively activating said cannon reciprocating means and said whine producing means.
4. A toy comprising a housing, means on said housing defining the wings of a jet plane, the tips of which extend beyond the shoulders of the operator of the toy, means on said housing defining a cockpit which is of such a size as to provide a shield for the face of the operator, a pair of spaced apart downwardly extending handles on said body, means defining a reciprocating simulated cannon extending forwardly from said housing, means defining a rocket launcher extending forwardly from said wings, means carried by said housing for producing a sound simulating the Whine of a jet engine, means operated by said whine producing means for reciprocating said cannon, means on said housing for producing a sound simulating a firing noise incident to the reciprocation of said cannon, means on said housing adapted to eject a rocket from said rocket launcher, and manually actuated means on said handles for selectively activating said whine producing means, said cannon reciprocating means, and said rocket ejecting means.
5. A toy jet plane comprising a housing provided with a reciprocable member extending forwardly therefrom and a base plate mounted on said housing, means on said housing for producing a sound effect, means on said housing for reciprocating said member including a shaft which has an eccentric portion and is journaled on said base plate, driving means mounted on said base plate, the shaft being axially movable between a nonoperating position and an operating position in which the shaft is in engagement with said driving means, urging means biasing said shaft toward said non-operating position, a rod connecting the eccentric portion of said shaft to said member, and manually actuated means for moving said shaft to said operating position, and means on said housing for producing a noise incident to the operation of said reciprocating means.
6. A toy jet plane comprising a housing provided with a reciprocable member extending forwardly therefrom and a base plate mounted on said housing, means on said housing for producing a sound effect, means on said housing for reciprocating said member including a shaft which has an eccentric portion and is journaled on said base plate, driving means mounted on said base plate, the shaft being axially movable between a non-operating position and an operating position in which the shaft is in engagement with said driving means, urging means biasing said shaft toward said non-operating position, a rod connecting the eccentric portion of said shaft to said member, and manually actuated means for moving said shaft to said operating position, and means on said housing for producing a noise incident to the operation of said reciprocating means including a cam means on said shaft, and a reed mounted on said housing in such a relation to said cam means as to be oscillated thereby.
7. A toy jet plane comprising a housing provided with a reciprocable member extending forwardly therefrom and a base plate mounted on said housing, means on said housing for producing a sound effect including an electric motor mounted on said base plate, a gear means journaled on said base plate in engagement with the shaft of said motor, and a vibrator riding on the gear teeth of said gear means, said motor being powered by a series connected electric circuit including a manually actuated normally open switch mounted on said housing and a source of electric power mounted on said housing, means on said housing for reciprocating said member, including a shaft which has an eccentric portion and is journaled on said base plate, a second gear means connected to said shaft, said shaft being axially movable between a non-operating position and an operating position in which the second gear means is in engagement with said first gear means, urging means biasing said shaft toward said non-operating position, a rod connecting the eccentric portion of said shaft to said reciprocable member, and manually actuated means for moving said shaft to said operating position, and means on said housing for producing a noise incident to the operation of said reciprocating means including a cam means on said shaft and a reed mounted on said housing in such a relation to said cam means as to be oscillated thereby.
8. A toy comprising a housing, means on said housing defining the wings of a plane, means on said housing defining the cockpit of a plane, a pair of spaced apart handles extending from said housing in such positions as to allow the operator to support and maneuver the toy, means on said housing defining a simulated gun extending from said housing, means on said housing for reciprocating said gun, means on said housing for producing a sound simulating a firing sound incident to the reciprocation of said gun, means on said housing for producing a sound simulating the sound of a plane engine, and means on said handles for selectively activating said gun reciprocating means and said engine sound producing means.
9. A toy plane comprising a housing provided with a reciprocable member extending therefrom, means on said housing for reciprocating said member including a shaft which has an eccentric portion and is journaled on said housing, a rod connecting the eccentric portion of said shaft to said member, drive means mounted on said housing, the shaft being axially movable between a non-operating position and an operating position in which the shaft is in engagement with said driving means, urging means biasing said shaft toward said non-operating position, and manually actuated means for moving said shaft to said operating position, and means on said housing for producing a noise incident to the operation of said reciprocating means.
10. A toy comprising a housing, means on said housing defining the wings of a plane, means on said housing I defining the cockpit of a plane, a pair of spaced apart handles extending from said housing in such positions as to allow the operator to maneuver the toy, means on said housing defining a simulated gun extending from said housing, means on said housing for reciprocating said gun, means on said housing for producing a sound simulating a firing sound incident to the reciprocation of said gun, and means on said housing and positioned so as to be operable by the operator While he holds said handles for selectively actuating said gun reciprocating means.
11. A toy comprising a housing, means on said housing defining the wings of a plane, means on said housing defining the cockpit of a plane, a pair of spaced apart handles extending from said housing in such positions as to allow the operator to maneuver the toy, means on said housing defining a simulated projectile launcher and adapted to receive a simulated projectile, means on said housing for launching the projectile from said launcher, and means on said housing and positioned so as to be operable by the operator while he holds said handles for selectively actuating said projectile launching means. 12. A toy comprising a housing, means on said housing defining the wings of a plane, means on said housing defining the cockpit of a plane, a pair of spaced apart handles extending from said housing in such positions as to allow the operator to maneuver the toy, means on said housing defining a simulated projectile launcher and adapted to receive a simulated projectile, means on said housing for launching the projectile from said launcher, means on said housing and positioned so as to be operable by the operator while he holds said handles for selectively actuating said projectile launching means. and means on said housing for producing a sound simu lating the sound of a plane engine.
13. A toy comprising a housing, means on said housing defining the Wings of a plane, means on said housing defining the cockpit of a'plane, a pair of spaced apart handles extending from said housing in such positions as to allow the operator to maneuver the toy, means on said housing defining a simulated gun extending from said housing, means onsaid housing for reciprocating said gun, means on said housing for producing a sound simulating a firing sound incident to the reciprocation of said gun, means on said housing and positioned so as to be operable by the operator while he holds said handles for selectively actuating said gun reciprocating means, and means on said housing for producing a sound simulating the sound of a plane engine.
References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,328,134 Doelckner Ian. 13, 1920 2,004,235 Burkhard June 11, 1935 2,117,597 Berger May 17, 1938 2,234,095 Stout Mar. 4, 1941 2,258,531 Baldwin Oct. 7, 1941 2,346,850 Lines Apr. 18, 1944 2,784,527 Sal-E Mar. 12, 1957 2,864,613 Porter s Dec. 16, 1958